An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(賄賂), but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”—“soft-soaping” or “buttering-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love to hear it? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who get so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But if we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣). They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless might.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.
【小題1】Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing”?

—I expected him to be nervous before his speech, but he was as cool as a cucumber.

—He _______ it carefully.

A．could have prepared                    B．shouldn’t have prepared

C．must have prepared                     D．can’t have prepared

Anthony was sad. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Anthony was sent away to a boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded with（懇求）his parents year after year not to send
him. “The thought was ,it would be good for me,” he recalled.
It was not. Anthony did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied for five years. “My teachers couldn’t have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn’t even smart enough to rebel. The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was the desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”
Now, at 55, Anthony is one of the world’s most successful children’s book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies，and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, has come out.
The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.
Anthony says he doesn’t try to write for kids; it just comes out that way.“ I have a feeling that it has something to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.
The style has also made Anthony a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it’s all about entertaining people with a good story.
Now, Anthony couldn’t be happier with his life. He sums up his success:“…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”
【小題1】Which of the following is true of Anthony?

I grew up poor – living with six brothers, my father and a wonderful mother．We had   26  money and few worldly goods, but plenty of love and attention．I was   27   and energetic．I understood that no matter how poor a person was, they could   28   afford a dream．
My dream was to be a   29 ．When I was sixteen, I could crush a baseball, throw a ninety – mile – per – hour fastball．I was also   30  : my high – school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who   31  me the difference between having a dream and showing strong belief．One particular   32  with him changed my life forever．
It was a summer and a friend recommended me for a summer 33 ．This meant a chance for my first income – cash for a new bike and new clothes, and the   34  of savings for a house for my mother．The opportunity was attracting, and I wanted to   35   at it．
Then I realized I would have to   36   summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing．I was   37   about this．
When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as  38  as I expected him to be．“You have your whole life to work,” he said．“Your   39  days are limited．You can’t afford to waste them．”
I stood before him with my head   40  , trying to think of how to explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth  41   his disappointment in me．
“How much are you going to make at this job?” he demanded．
“$ 3．25 an hour,” I replied．
“Well, is $ 3．25 an hour the price of a   42  ?” he asked．
That   43  laid bare for me the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal．I devoted myself to   44   that summer, and within the year I was offered a $ 20,000 contract．I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1984 for $ 1．7 million, and bought my mother the   45  of my dreams．

All people in the company voted for Mr．Smith．His management and strong character as well as his kind-heartedness made _____ he was as CEO．

       A．who  B．which       C．what        D．whom