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 (企業(yè)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”?

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

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

C．There was no need for the man to have the tire fixed.

D．The man should keep silent.

2.The author learnt from the experiment that he      .

A．could become more challenging

B．could spend more time relaxing himself

C．should take pleasure in helping others

D．a(chǎn)ctually changed his attitudes towards life

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

A．Remember.

B．Repeat.

C．Remove.

D．Recite.

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

A．We have no choice but to follow.

B．We should often change our choice.

C．We should make preparations before a journey.

D．We should think twice before taking action.

5. The purpose of writing this text is to            .

A．a(chǎn)dvise us to become active in life

B．explain what Hobson’s choice is

C．tell an interesting story about the author

D．a(chǎn)ccept others’ advice modestly

 

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.A

5.A

【解析】略

 

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2009年高考英語(yǔ)(遼寧卷) 題型：001

聽(tīng)力(共兩節(jié)，滿分30分)

第一節(jié)(共5小題；沒(méi)小題1.5分，滿分7.5分)

聽(tīng)下面5段對(duì)話。每段對(duì)話后有一個(gè)小題，從小題中所給的A、B、C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)中選出最佳選項(xiàng)。聽(tīng)完每段對(duì)話后，你都有10秒鐘的時(shí)間來(lái)回答有關(guān)小題和閱讀下一小題。每段對(duì)話僅讀一遍。

例：How much is the shirt?

A．￡19.15

B．￡9.15

C．￡9.18

答案B。

1．What do the speakers need to buy?

A．A fridge

B．A dinnertabil

C．A few chairs

2．Where are the sperkers?

A．In a resourant．

B．In a hotel．

C．In a school．

3．What does the womam mean?

A．Cathy will be at the part．

B．Cathy is too buay to come．

C．Cathy is going to be invited．

4．Why does the woman plan to go to town

A．To pay her bills in the bank．

B．To buy books in a bookstore．

C．To get some money from te bank．

5．What is the woman trying to do?

A．Finish some writing．

B．Print an article．

C．Find a newapaper．

第二節(jié)(共15小題；第小題1.5分，滿分22.5分)

聽(tīng)下面5段對(duì)話。每段話后有幾個(gè)小題，從題中所給的A、B、C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)中選出最佳選項(xiàng)。聽(tīng)每段對(duì)話前，你將有時(shí)間閱讀各個(gè)小題，每小題5秒鐘；聽(tīng)完后，各小題給出5秒鐘的作答時(shí)間。每段對(duì)話讀兩遍。

聽(tīng)第6段材料，回答第6、7題。

6．What is the man doing?

A．Changing seats on the plane．

B．Asking for a window seat．

C．Trying to find his seat．

7．What is the woman’s seat number?

A．6A

B．7A

C．8A

聽(tīng)第7材料，回答第8、9題。

8．Why doesn’t the woman take the green T-shist?

A．It’s too small．

B．It’s too dark．

C．It’s too expensive．

9．What dose the woman buy in the end?

A．A yellow T-shirt．

B．A bule T-shirt．

C．A pink T-shirt．

聽(tīng)第8材料，回答第10至12題。

10．How long has the man been in London?

A．One year．

B．A few years．

C．A couple of months．

11．Why did the woman leave her hometown?

A．To lend a city life．

B．To open a restaurart．

C．To find a job．

12．Where did the woman come from?

A．London．

B．Arnside．

C．Lancaster．

聽(tīng)第9材料，回答第13至16題

13．What is a daypack?

A．A box．

B．A bag．

C．A lock．

14．What surpriscs the girl at school?

A．A lot of discussious in class．

B．Teachers giving little homework．

C．Few students asking quescions in class．

15．At what time of the school term does the comversation most probably take place?

A．At the end of it．

B．In the middle of it．

C．At the beginning of it．

16．What do we know about the girl?

A．She is new to she school．

B．She wriers for the school newspaper．

C．She seldom asks questions in class．

聽(tīng)第10段材料，回答第17至20題。

17．What does Mr Henry Stone do?

A．A bank clerk

B．A teacher

C．A writer

18．What does Henry like doing at airports?

A．Watching people

B．Telling stories

C．Reading magazines

19．What did Henry learn from the newspaper that day?

A．A valuable suitcase was missing．

B．A man stole money from a bank．

C．A woman ran away from home

20．Why was the woman at the airport?

A．She was traveling on business．

B．She was seeing the man off．

C．She was leaving for Greece．

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：湖南省師大附中2011－2012學(xué)年度高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)試題（人教版） 題型：001

Part I Listening Comprehension(30 marks)

Section A(22.5 marks)

Directions：In this section, you'll hear six conversations between two speakers．For each conversation, there are several questions, and each question is followed by three choices marked A, B and C．Listen carefully and then choose the best answer for each question．You will hear each conversation TWICE．

Conversation 1

1．How long does the woman need to work every day?

A．Three hours．

B．Four hours．

C．Five hours．

2．How much can the woman earn each day?

A．5 dollars．

B．10 dollars．

C．20 dollars．

Conversation 1

M：Do you have any work experience?

W：No, I’ve never worked in a restaurant before．

M：Do you think you can get along will with customers?

W：Yes, I think so．

M：Can you make sure to be here from four to eight in the afternoon?

W：Yes, I'm always on time．

M：Then you can start tomorrow．Monday through Friday．Five dollars an hour．

W：That's fine．

Conversation 2

3．What's the possible relationship between the speakers?

A．Boss and employee．

B．Mother and son．

C．Teacher and student．

4．When will the man come back?

A．This Monday．

B．This Wednesday．

C．This Friday．

Conversation 2

M：Mrs．Sharon, I say…, I have to …

W：What's the matter, Richard?

M：Er, I'd like to take two days off．My mother's ill．I need to stay with her．

W：I'm sorry to hear that．You mean you will be back here this Wednesday?

M：Yes, I hope I can come back earlier．

W：That's all right．By the way, don't worry about your lessons．I'll certainly help you with them．

Conversation 3

5．What can we know about Nancy and Steve?

A．They will divorce soon．

B．They have two daughters．

C．They divorced last year．

6．Who will help Nancy out in the woman's opinion?

A．Her daughter．

B．Her parents．

C．Her friends．

Conversation 3

M：Kate, Nancy and Steve are breaking up．

W：It's really a shame．I’ve heard that they quarrel, but they’ve always made up afterward．

M：Things are not working out this time．They are getting a separation soon．

W：What will happen to their daughter, Bonnie?

M：Nancy is going to take her．

W：The cost of living is so high．It will be difficult for her to take te responsibility．

M：She seems to have made up her mind．She said she would rather be a single parent than cope with an unhappy marriage．

W：Well, I hope her parents will be able to help her out．

Conversation 4

7．How often does the woman pay the tax?

A．Once a month．

B．Twice a year．

C．Once a year．

8．Why does the woman have to pay more taxes?

A．The government has raised the tax rate．

B．She didn't pay taxes last year．

C．She has got extra money．

9．What can we know about the woman?

A．She is an accountant．

B．She taught in a night school．

C．She lives upon a small income．

Conversation 4

W：Henry, our income tax is due soon．Did you call our accountant?

M：He's figuring out our taxes right now．I gave him all the records on our income and expenses last week．

W：The government has taken away taxes from our paychecks all year．I hope we get some of that money back or at least that we won't have to pay more．

M：Remember the money your aunt left us when she died, and the money you made when you taught in a night school?

W：Yes．

M：Well, that's all taxable income．That money has put us in a higher tax bracket．

W：What does that mean?

M：It means we have to pay more taxes．

W：Well, it looks like we'll have to make more money this year just to pay last year's taxes．

Conversation 5

10．What can we know about the kid from Haiti?

A．He doesn't get on well at school．

B．He is often late for school．

C．He doesn't speak much English．

11．How many countries are mentioned in the conversation?

A．Six．

B．Five．

C．Four．

12．How does the woman help the immigrant kids?

A．She has spent much time with them after class．

B．She gives them more lessons than other kids．

C．She pays more attention to them at class．

Conversation 5

M：Kate, how's the new student in your class doing?

W：The kid from Haiti? He's having a rough time communicating since he doesn't speak much English．However, the other kids seem to involve him pretty well．

M：Our students are used to new kids who don't speak much English since we have had so many new immigrant families moving into our school district．

W：Don't I know it! This year I have had a Vietnamese, an Ethiopian, a Cuban and the kid from Haiti in my class．I spend a lot of time with them after class so that they can catch up．

M：It must have been hard for you since you have to give them special attention in order to help them．

W：It has been．Nevertheless, it's really rewarding to see them progress and make friends．

Conversation 6

13．When will the speakers have the exams?

A．In one week．

B．In two weeks．

C．In three weeks．

14．What will the woman do this summer?

A．Teach English．

B．Find a job．

C．Study Chinese．

15．How did the man learn Chinese?

A．By speaking．

B．By reading．

C．By listening．

Conversation 6

M：Well, Jenny．The school year is almost over．We just have two weeks before exams．What are you going to do this summer?

W：I'm going to teach English to some immigrants in the university's community service program．

M：That sounds interesting．Don't you need to speak a foreign language for the job?

W：No．You just have to present the language simply and give the students a chance to practice speaking．

M：But that's the way I was taught to speak Chinese．But speaking Chinese didn't help me learn to read and write Chinese．

W：My students don't want to read and write English．They are more interested in speaking．

M：You sound very knowledgeable about all this．How do you know so much?

W：I took teaching English as a second language course last year when you were in China．I’ve also talked with the program administrators quite a lot．I think I would like to be an ESL teacher when I graduate．

SECTION B

Directions：In this section, you'll hear a mini－talk．Listen carefully and then fill in numbered blanks with the information you’ve got．Fill each blank with NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS．

You'll hear the mini－talk TWICE．

About friendship

Section B

We often say, “A friend in need is a friend indeed．” But what is the exact meaning of friendship? No one can really offer a definite concept, because different people hold various views on friendship．

Everyone has his own friendship and some have a lot of friends．But in fact, quantity is not so important as quality．Loyalty is the most important for friendship．No one wants to make friends with those who will betray them．

No matter whether you are married or not, no matter where you live and work, your friends are your friends．It is not based on bloodline．It relies on your intention．To you, some friends are fun－loving, some give encouragement, some offer knowledge, and others help you to find your own identity．Before your friends, you may act as a supervisor, a learned brother, a lovely child, a gentleman or a playmate．In a word, friendship helps you to be a full person．So friendship can benefit．

Keys：

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Two thieves came to a house to steal something. They dug a hole in the wall of the house. One of them crawled into the house while the other waited outside.

There lived many mice in the house. The woman in the moonlight saw a mouse crawl into the house. “l(fā)ook! In comes one.” She said to the man in the house. Te thief was so frightened that he hurriedly crawled out of the house and said to the one waiting outside, “She found me when I was just in.” But the thief outside didn’t believe him, so he said, “Let us two try to crawl into the house together.” At that time, two mice happened to crawl into the house too. The woman saw the mice and shouted, “In come two. Catch them!” the two thieves were terribly frightened. The man in he house said, “You saw them come in but where are they?” I will catch them tonight.” The two thieves started to run away at once.

The two thieves wanted to make it clear whether they had been found or not the night before. The next day they acted as men selling sweet potatoes and came before the house. The man and the woman were ploughing in their fields. The rope broke and the woman came home for one. She saw two men selling sweet potatoes and wanted to buy some. She picked out two which looked like mice. At the time the man couldn’t wait of her any longer and he ran back from the fields to hurry her up. The woman showed the sweet potatoes to the man and said, “How they look like the two of last night.” The man said, “ I asked you to fetch a rope. Why don’t you hurry for it?” the two thieves ran away very quickly without their sweet potatoes

The two thieves failed to steal anything from the house because ________.

A. they were found out

B. they were frightened by what they had heard in the house

C. they didn’t work together well with each other

D. mice stopped them from doing so

From the last paragraph we know that __________.

the two thieves were farmer selling potatoes.

The woman recognized the two thieves

The woman pretended to know nothing about the two thieves and mad fun of them

The two thieves didn’t know that they were not found at all

When the woman said “How thy look like the two of last night”___________.

A. she referred to the two thieves          B. she meant nothing    

C. she said it on purpose                 D. she referred to the two mice

“__________” is the title for this passage.

A. Two Clever Thieves               B. Terrible Mice

C. Hit the Mark by a Fluke          D. A Clever Couple

Which of the following statements is false?

The two thieves not only failed to steal things but also lost their sweet potatoes.

Whenever thy found mice, the people in the house would try to catch them.

The two thieves ran away at once because they thought the woman had seen them.

The man let the woman go home for a rope, which would be used for catching the thieves.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2010年福建省高一下學(xué)期期末考試英語(yǔ)卷 題型：閱讀理解

Two thieves came to a house to steal something. They dug a hole in the wall of the house. One of them crawled into the house while the other waited outside.

There lived many mice in the house. The woman in the moonlight saw a mouse crawl into the house. “l(fā)ook! In comes one.” She said to the man in the house. Te thief was so frightened that he hurriedly crawled out of the house and said to the one waiting outside, “She found me when I was just in.” But the thief outside didn’t believe him, so he said, “Let us two try to crawl into the house together.” At that time, two mice happened to crawl into the house too. The woman saw the mice and shouted, “In come two. Catch them!” the two thieves were terribly frightened. The man in he house said, “You saw them come in but where are they?” I will catch them tonight.” The two thieves started to run away at once.

The two thieves wanted to make it clear whether they had been found or not the night before. The next day they acted as men selling sweet potatoes and came before the house. The man and the woman were ploughing in their fields. The rope broke and the woman came home for one. She saw two men selling sweet potatoes and wanted to buy some. She picked out two which looked like mice. At the time the man couldn’t wait of her any longer and he ran back from the fields to hurry her up. The woman showed the sweet potatoes to the man and said, “How they look like the two of last night.” The man said, “ I asked you to fetch a rope. Why don’t you hurry for it?” the two thieves ran away very quickly without their sweet potatoes

1.The two thieves failed to steal anything from the house because ________.

A. they were found out

B. they were frightened by what they had heard in the house

C. they didn’t work together well with each other

D. mice stopped them from doing so

2.From the last paragraph we know that __________.

A.       the two thieves were farmer selling potatoes.

B.        The woman recognized the two thieves

C.        The woman pretended to know nothing about the two thieves and mad fun of them

D.       The two thieves didn’t know that they were not found at all

3.When the woman said “How thy look like the two of last night”___________.

A. she referred to the two thieves          B. she meant nothing    

C. she said it on purpose                 D. she referred to the two mice

4.“__________” is the title for this passage.

A. Two Clever Thieves               B. Terrible Mice

C. Hit the Mark by a Fluke            D. A Clever Couple

5.Which of the following statements is false?

A.   The two thieves not only failed to steal things but also lost their sweet potatoes.

B.    Whenever thy found mice, the people in the house would try to catch them.

C.    The two thieves ran away at once because they thought the woman had seen them.

D.   The man let the woman go home for a rope, which would be used for catching the thieves.

 

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Dou Te, a 54 – year – old single man, sleeps for extremely long periods of time in winter, thinking it helps him to lose weight and brings him good luck. Sometimes he sleeps for a week, sometimes for a month, waking only occasionally for a drink of water. This unusual habit of his attracted (吸引) the attention of a professor at a local university, who is studying him.

Dou Te is an agricultural consultant (顧問(wèn)) and has no fixed working hours. He says he has had this habit of hibernation since the 1960’s, when one winter he felt particularly tired and became seriously overweight. Because of bad weather, he had to stay at home for several weeks, and he found that sleeping is the only way to get rid of the boredom, and from then on, he started to sleep in winter, whether it was day or night. As a result he lost 50 pounds that first year. At the beginning, he would get up in the mornings and have something to eat and take a shower, but then he read some materials and learned that every kind of need could be reduced during the hibernation, and he gradually learned to control his instincts. Now when he hibernates, he need only drink some water once a week; all his system slows down. And he hardly needs any food and certainly doesn’t need to wash.

Says he “For four months, I don’t eat or play. I save a lot of money, and when I wake up, I can use the money to improve my quality of life. Hibernation is really a good idea. If anyone else is interested, it is worth trying.”

1．Dou Te sleeps for a very long period of time in winter for the thinks          .

       A．it helps him to lose weigh and brings him good luck.

       B．it helps him to get rid of work and worries of life.

       C．he can have a very good rest.

       D．it helps him to gain weight and brings him good luck.

2．He started his hibernation in one winter when            .

       A．he felt a little tired and became slightly overweight.

       B．he particularly felt bored and became seriously overweight.

       C．he was particularly tired and became seriously overweight.

       D．he particularly felt tired and lost 50 pounds.

3．After hibernation, Dou Te thinks           .

       A．he can get rid of the boredom.

       B．he can get rid of the troubles of eating and drinking.

       C．he can save money and improve the quality of his life.

       D．he can be free from his work and away from people.

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