After each of the following sentence, a list of possible interpretations is given. choose the interpretation…

Step 1: Analyze the question The sentence is "On hearing the news, he flew off the handle." This is an idiom, so it should not be read literally. We have to find its figurative meaning.

Step 2: Explain the concept "To fly off the handle" means to lose your temper suddenly and become very angry. The expression comes from an axe head that comes loose and flies off its handle, which is dangerous and sudden. In the same way, a person "loses control" of their temper.

Step 3: Test each option

• A. changed his decision: Nothing in the idiom suggests changing a decision.
• B. ran away: "Flew" might tempt you to think of running, but that is the literal reading, and it is wrong.
• C. felt very disappointed: This is a sad feeling, but the idiom describes an angry outburst.
• D. became very angry: This matches the idiom exactly, since it describes a sudden loss of temper.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is D. became very angry.

Tip: With idioms, never trust the literal words. Ask yourself, "What emotion or action does this phrase picture?" Some similar idioms about anger are:

• hit the roof
• blow a fuse
• see red
• lose one's cool

Learn idioms in groups like these (anger, death, money, and so on), because WASSCE, NECO and JAMB repeat these themes often.