单选题 "Our life is ______ away by detail. Simplify, simplify. " That dictum of Henry David Thoreau's, echoing from the days of steamboats and ox-drawn plows, had long haunted me.

【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题空格处是说我们的生命被琐碎的事情所消耗。短语fritter away的意思是“浪费，慢慢消耗”，因此A项为正确答案。其他三项“B项quenched结束，熄灭；C项reproached责备；D项scouted侦察，监视”都不正确。