阅读理解。
Once there was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails (钉子) and
told him that every time he lost his temper (脾气), he must hammer (用锤敲打) a nail into the back of
the fence (栅栏). The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as
he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually (逐渐地) dwindled down.
He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day
came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that
the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the
young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the
hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.
The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one, You
can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is
still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical (身体的) one." As William Arthur Ward once said,
"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems not people, to focus your energies on answers not
excuses. "
1. When the boy lost his temper, he must ___ as his father told him.
A. break some plates and glasses
B. pull out one nail of the back of the fence
C. hammer a nail into the back of the fence
2. Underlined expression dwindled down means __ .
A. become gradually smaller
B. become gradually larger
C. get more and more
3. When the boy finally told his father that all the nails were gone, his father ___ .
A. took him to the fence and look at the holes
B. asked him to pull out one nail of the back of the fence
C. asked him to focus your energies on excuses
4. Which of the following about the boy is WRONG
A. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
B. The boy found it was easier to drive nails into the fence than to hold his temper.
C. The number of nails hammered daily became smaller and smaller.
5. We can infer from the passage that _ .
A. the boy still had a bad temper at last
B. the boy began to know a verbal wound was nothing serious
C. the boy learnt to how to control his temper and settle the problems
