One man tells of driving on a long and lonely road, the last 65 miles of it unpaved, in order to watch Indian dances in the state of Arizona. After the dances, he returned to his car only to find that it had a flat tire. He put on the spare and drove to the only service station in that town.
“Do you fix flats?” he inquired of the attendant.
“Yes,” came the answer.
“How much do you charge?” he asked.
With a twinkle in his eye, the man replied, “What difference does it make?”
This is what has been called a “Hobson’s choice”. A Hobson’s choice is a situation that forces a person to accept whatever is offered or go without.
According to Barbara Berliner, the phrase was inspired by sixteenth-century entrepreneur (企业家) Thomas Hobson. There was no choice by the customer — it was strictly Hobson’s choice.
But often we really have a choice, and the choice does make a difference. We may not always believe it. We may feel as if we have no choice, but almost always there is a choice in the matter. And when we realize that we do most things by choice, then we are taking control of our own lives.
Someone challenged me to try an experiment that completely changed my perspective. “For the next seven days,” he said, “eliminate the words ‘I have to’ from your vocabulary and say ‘I choose to’. Don’t say, ‘I have to work late tonight’. Instead, say, ‘I choose to work late’. When you choose to do it, you take control of your life. Instead of saying, ‘I have to stay home’, try ‘I choose to stay home’. The way you spend your time is your choice. You are responsible. You have control.”
In just seven days I was no longer saying “I have to” and I felt better about my decisions. I learned that there is very little in my life I actually have to do. You and I decide to do certain things because we believe that it will be for the best. When we eliminate “I have to” from our vocabularies, we take control.
Try it for a week and you see what happens. I think you’ll see it’s a change for the better.
【小题1】 What did the attendant mean by saying “What difference does it make”?

One man tells of driving on a long and lonely road, the last 65 miles of it unpaved, in order to watch Indian dances in the state of Arizona. After the dances, he returned to his car only to find that it had a flat tire. He put on the spare and drove to the only service station in that town.

“Do you fix flats?” he inquired of the attendant.

“Yes,” came the answer.

“How much do you charge?” he asked.

With a twinkle in his eye, the man replied, “What difference does it make?”

This is what has been called a “Hobson’s choice”. A Hobson’s choice is a situation that forces a person to accept whatever is offered or go without.

According to Barbara Berliner, the phrase was inspired by sixteenth-century entrepreneur (企业家) Thomas Hobson. There was no choice by the customer — it was strictly Hobson’s choice.

But often we really have a choice, and the choice does make a difference. We may not always believe it. We may feel as if we have no choice, but almost always there is a choice in the matter. And when we realize that we do most things by choice, then we are taking control of our own lives.

Someone challenged me to try an experiment that completely changed my perspective. “For the next seven days,” he said, “eliminate the words ‘I have to’ from your vocabulary and say ‘I choose to’. Don’t say, ‘I have to work late tonight’. Instead, say, ‘I choose to work late’. When you choose to do it, you take control of your life. Instead of saying, ‘I have to stay home’, try ‘I choose to stay home’. The way you spend your time is your choice. You are responsible. You have control.”

In just seven days I was no longer saying “I have to” and I felt better about my decisions. I learned that there is very little in my life I actually have to do. You and I decide to do certain things because we believe that it will be for the best. When we eliminate “I have to” from our vocabularies, we take control.

Try it for a week and you see what happens. I think you’ll see it’s a change for the better.

1. What did the attendant mean by saying “What difference does it make”?

2.The author learnt from the experiment that he      .

3.What does the underlined word “eliminate” mean?

4.What is the situation where we have a “Hobson’s choice”?

5. The purpose of writing this text is to            .

One man tells of driving on a long and lonely road, the last 65 miles of it unpaved, in order to watch Indian dances in the state of Arizona. After the dances, he returned to his car only to find that it had a flat tire. He put on the spare and drove to the only service station in that town.
“Do you fix flats?” he inquired of the attendant.
“Yes,” came the answer.
“How much do you charge?” he asked.
With a twinkle in his eye, the man replied, “What difference does it make?”
This is what has been called a “Hobson’s choice”. A Hobson’s choice is a situation that forces a person to accept whatever is offered or go without.
According to Barbara Berliner, the phrase was inspired by sixteenth-century entrepreneur (企业家) Thomas Hobson. There was no choice by the customer — it was strictly Hobson’s choice.
But often we really have a choice, and the choice does make a difference. We may not always believe it. We may feel as if we have no choice, but almost always there is a choice in the matter. And when we realize that we do most things by choice, then we are taking control of our own lives.
Someone challenged me to try an experiment that completely changed my perspective. “For the next seven days,” he said, “eliminate the words ‘I have to’ from your vocabulary and say ‘I choose to’. Don’t say, ‘I have to work late tonight’. Instead, say, ‘I choose to work late’. When you choose to do it, you take control of your life. Instead of saying, ‘I have to stay home’, try ‘I choose to stay home’. The way you spend your time is your choice. You are responsible. You have control.”
In just seven days I was no longer saying “I have to” and I felt better about my decisions. I learned that there is very little in my life I actually have to do. You and I decide to do certain things because we believe that it will be for the best. When we eliminate “I have to” from our vocabularies, we take control.
Try it for a week and you see what happens. I think you’ll see it’s a change for the better.

1. 1.

   What did the attendant mean by saying “What difference does it make”?

   1. A.
      The man didn’t need to pay for the work.
   2. B.
      It was unnecessary for the man to ask about the price.
   3. C.
      There was no need for the man to have the tire fixed.
   4. D.
      The man should keep silent.
2. 2.

   The author learnt from the experiment that he      .

   1. A.
      could become more challenging
   2. B.
      could spend more time relaxing himself
   3. C.
      should take pleasure in helping others
   4. D.
      actually changed his attitudes towards life
3. 3.

   What does the underlined word “eliminate” mean?

   1. A.
      Remember.
   2. B.
      Repeat.
   3. C.
      Remove.
   4. D.
      Recite.
4. 4.

   What is the situation where we have a “Hobson’s choice”?

   1. A.
      We have no choice but to follow.
   2. B.
      We should often change our choice.
   3. C.
      We should make preparations before a journey.
   4. D.
      We should think twice before taking action.
5. 5.

   The purpose of writing this text is to            .

   1. A.
      advise us to become active in life
   2. B.
      explain what Hobson’s choice is
   3. C.
      tell an interesting story about the author
   4. D.
      accept others’ advice modestly

One man tells of driving on a long and lonely road, the last 65 miles of it unpaved, in order to watch Indian dances in the state of Arizona．After the dances, he returned to his car only to find that it had a flat tire．He put on the spare and drove to the only service station in that town．

“Do you fix flats?” he inquired of the attendant．

“Yes,” came the answer．

“How much do you charge?” he asked．

With a twinkle in his eye, the man replied, “What difference does it make?”

This is what has been called a “Hobson’s choice”．A Hobson’s choice is a situation that forces a person to accept whatever is offered or go without．

According to Barbara Berliner, the phrase was inspired by sixteenth-century entrepreneur (企业家) Thomas Hobson．There was no choice by the customer — it was strictly Hobson’s choice．

But often we really have a choice, and the choice does make a difference．We may not always believe it．We may feel as if we have no choice, but almost always there is a choice in the matter．And when we realize that we do most things by choice, then we are taking control of our own lives．

Someone challenged me to try an experiment that completely changed my perspective(看法，观点)．“For the next seven days,” he said, “remove the words ‘I have to’ from your vocabulary and say ‘I choose to’．Don’t say, ‘I have to work late tonight’．Instead, say, ‘I choose to work late’．When you choose to do it, you take control of your life．Instead of saying ‘I have to stay home’, try ‘I choose to stay home’．The way you spend your time is your choice．You are responsible．You have control．”

In just seven days I was no longer saying “I have to” and I felt better about my decisions．I learned that there is very little in my life I actually have to do．You and I decide to do certain things because we believe that it will be for the best．When we remove “I have to” from our vocabularies, we take control．

Try it for a week and you see what happens．I think you’ll see it’s a change for the better．

66．What did the attendant mean by saying “What difference does it make”?

       A．The man shouldn’t come to the service station．

       B．The man didn’t need to pay for the work．

      C．There was no need f to fix the tire ．

       D．It was unnecessary for the man to ask about the price．

67．What is the situation where we have a “Hobson’s choice”?

      A．We should make preparations before a journey．

      B．We should often change our choice．

      C．We have no choice but to follow．

      D．We should think twice before taking action．

68．The author learnt from the experiment that he  _________．

      A．actually changed his attitudes towards life     B．could spend more time relaxing himself

      C．should take pleasure in helping others         D．could become more challenging

69．The purpose of writing this text is to _________．

      A．tell an interesting story about the author    B．explain what Hobson’s choice is

      C．accept others’ advice modestly              D．advise us to become active in life

70．What's the best title of this passage?

   A．I Have To            B．I Choose To          C．Hobson’s Story       D．Fix a Flat Tire

Isn’t it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time and place can change the course of your life’s history? This is what happened in my 36 .

When I was 14, I left school and was journeying first in California and then in Hawaii. 37 reaching El Paso, I met an old man, a beggar, on the street corner, who 38 me and asked if I was 39 away from home because I looked so　 40　 .

After 41 for a few minutes, the 42 beggar told me to follow him. He told me that he had something good to 43 with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came to a library, where the beggar first　 44 me to a table and asked me to wait for a moment 45 he looked for something special among the shelves. A few moments later, he 46 with a couple of old books under his arms, and then started with a few statements (说法)that were very 47 and that changed my life. He said, “There are two things that I want to 48 you.”

“Number one is never to judge a book by its cover, for a cover can 49 you. Well, young man, I’ve got a little 50 for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. But a year ago, my wife 51 away. I realized there were certain things I had not yet 52 in life, one of which is to live like a beggar on the streets. So, you see, don’t ever judge a book by its cover.”

“Number two is to learn how to 53 , my boy. For there is only one thing that people can’t take away from you, and that is your wisdom(知识, 智慧).” At that moment, he showed me the 54 of Plato and Aristotle —immortal(不朽的) classics from ancient times.

The beggar then led me back on the streets near where we 55 met. His parting request was for me never to forget what he taught me.

36. A. case　　　　　　　　　 B. time　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. journey　　　　　　　　　　 D. life

37. A. Toward　　　　　　　 B. In　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. On　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. As

38. A. remembered　　　　 B. stopped　　　　　　　　　　 C. searched　　　　　　　　　 D. begged

39. A. driving　　　　　　　 B. holidaying　　　　　　　　 C. keeping　　　　　　　　　　 D. running

40. A. tired　　　　　　　　　 B. young　　　　　　　　　　　 C. old　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. familiar

41. A. chatting　　　　　　　 B. checking　　　　　　　　　 C. drinking　　　　　　　　　 D. expressing

42. A. friendly　　　　　　　 B. strange　　　　　　　　　　 C. hungry　　　　　　　　　　 D. curious

43. A. charge　　　　　　　　 B. change　　　　　　　　　　 C. share D. communicate

44. A. led　　　　　　　　　　 B. sent　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. pushed　　　　　　　　　　 D. ordered

45. A. unless　　　　　　　　 B. though　　　　　　　　　　 C. while　　　　　　　　　　　 D. since

46. A. went　　　　　　　　　 B. held　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. returned　　　　　　　　　 D. carried

47 A. common　　　　　　　 B. special　　　　　　　　　　 C. interesting　　　　　　　　 D. attractive

48. A. teach　　　　　　　　　 B. order　　　　　　　　　　　 C. advise　　　　　　　　　　　 D. request

49. A. attract　　　　　　　　 B. upset　　　　　　　　　　　 C. interest　　　　　　　　　　 D. fool

50. A. disappointment　　 B. joy　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. surprise　　　　　　　　　 D. excitement

51. A. walked　　　　　　　 B. passed　　　　　　　　　　 C. drove　　　　　　　　　　　 D. gave

52. A. heard　　　　　　　　 B. seen　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. experienced　　　　　　　 D. witnessed

53. A. work　　　　　　　　　 B. live　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. write　　　　　　　　　　　 D. read

54. A. writings　　　　　　　 B. poems　　　　　　　　　　 C. novels　　　　　　　　　　 D. stories

55. A. early　　　　　　　　　 B. once　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. already　　　　　　　　　　 D. first