John was a very strong man． Once he got a job cutting wood in the forest． His boss gave him an axe（斧子） and showed him the area where he should work．

The first day， John cut down 18trees．

"Good，" the boss said， "Keep that up!"

Happily， John tried harder the next day， but could only cut down 15trees．

The third day he tried even harder， but could only cut down 10trees． Day after day he was cutting down fewer and fewer trees．

"I must be losing my strength．" John thought． He said sorry to his boss， and he said he could not understand what was going on．

"When was the last time you sharpened（磨快） your axe？" the boss asked．

"Sharpened？ I have no time to sharpen my axe． I have been very busy trying to cut down trees．" said John．

While John was working hard， he didn't work "smart"． He didn't think about the best way to do his job． Many of us never learn new skills， and we think that what we have learned is enough． Sharpening our skills from time to time is the key to success．

41． The boss gave　　 to John．

A． a tree

B． an axe

C． a forest

42． John cut down　　 trees during the first three days．

A． 18

B． 21

C． 43

43． What does the word "strength" mean in Chinese？　　

A． 强度

B． 力量

C． 长度

44． Why couldn't John cut down more trees？　　

A． Because he didn't sharpen his axe．

B． Because he became old．

C． Because he was hungry．

45． From the passage， we know that the key to success is　　．

A． cutting down more trees

B． sharpening our axes

C． sharpening our skills from time to time