The Knife and the Stone
Written by Studio AM.
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A young cook named Pia worked in a harbor kitchen beside an old cook named Ruth. Every morning, before the first order, Ruth drew her knife across a flat stone, ten slow strokes on each side. Pia thought this was wasted time. While Ruth sharpened, Pia was already chopping, and for the first hour she was the faster of the two.
A knife dulls with use, and a worn edge makes clean slicing harder. By noon Pia was pressing hard and slowing down. Her onions came out crushed, and her wrist ached before the dinner rush. Ruth's knife moved in the evening as it had in the morning, and Ruth went home with an easy hand.
One night Pia asked for her secret. Ruth handed her the stone. "The ten strokes are not a delay before the work," she said. "They are the first part of it."
Care for the tool is part of the trade, not a pause from it.
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Questions
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Question 1 of 4
What lesson does this fable teach?
The answer is A: Keeping a tool sharp is part of the work, not time taken away from it.
Ruth's preparation helps her work through the day; the closing lesson includes maintenance as part of the job.
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Question 2 of 4
Why is Pia the faster cook only in the first hour?
The answer is C: Her head start comes from skipping the sharpening, and the cost arrives as her edge dulls.
Pia starts sooner because she skips sharpening, but later cutting takes her more effort.
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Question 3 of 4
In this passage, "dulls" most nearly means
The answer is B: loses its sharp edge
The sentence links dulls with a worn edge and more difficult slicing.
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Question 4 of 4
What did Ruth do every morning before the first order?
The answer is D: She drew her knife across a stone, ten strokes on each side.
She sharpens her knife with ten slow strokes on each side before the first order.
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