Store up vs. stoke up

[dina]

Test No. incompl/inter-26 "The Ants and the Grasshopper", question 8

The ants shook their heads at him and asked him why he hadn't ......... up food in the summer.

(a) stood
(b) stored
(c) stoked
(d) stopped

Test No. incompl/inter-26 "The Ants and the Grasshopper", answer 8

The ants shook their heads at him and asked him why he hadn't stored up food in the summer.

Correct answer: (b) stored

Your answer was: incorrect
The ants shook their heads at him and asked him why he hadn't stoked up food in the summer.
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Hi,

Please explain, why the answer not stoke up?

Thanks

[Torsten]

Because the ants store up food for the winter, that means, they collect food and set it aside for future use.
To stoke means to stir up a fire and add fuel to it - this doesn't make any sense in the given context.

TOEIC short conversations: Changing meeting times

[Ft_Louie]

But the phrasal verb 'stoke up' aslo means 'to eat or drink a lot of something' so can you please explain it clearlier?

[Beeesneees]

The animal in the story doesn't eat the food all at once in preparation for Winter, Louie. He puts it aside to be eaten when required.
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Cheers m' dears!

[Alan]

Hi Louie,

The first idea with 'stoke up' is to provide fuel for a fire/furnace/engine to make sure it will continue to burn. The informal use suggests that you literally fill yourself with food in preparation for an exhausting job or because yo don't know when you will eat again. In the fable the ants are shocked that the grasshopper hadn't kept to one side some food during the summer so that he would have enough food during the winter.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Ft_Louie]

Oh, I get it!! Thank you so much, teachers!!!!