Tony Hawken, 57, is divorcing his wife Xiu Li, 51, Britain’s wealthiest woman entrepreneur（企業(yè)家）, because he says he doesn’t like being rich and is ‘not in the habit’ of spending lots of money.
The pair traded up their semi-detached home in South Norwood, London, and bought a £1.5million house in Surrey.
Li, who is now worth $1.2billion (£700million) according to Forbes, quickly settled into a life which included sipping a £900 bottle of wine on a luxurious yacht.
However, Mr Hawken says he felt more comfortable getting lunch in his local Wetherspoon’s.
Despite his sudden wealth he continued to buy books from charity shops, and
shunned dear clothes.
In an interview with The Times, he said: ‘I think it made me uncomfortable because I’m not in the habit, I don’t like spending lots of money — I’ve been brought up that way.
‘Until recently I was never a wealthy person. I’ve been moderately comfortable because I have been careful with my money.’
Now the couple have decided to part, Mr Hawken will walk away with just £1million, but says it will be enough for him.
He added: ‘I have got a settlement which is not great, but it’s enough for me because I don’t have an extravagant lifestyle. I won’t have to work if I’m careful.’
On a recent trip to China, Mr Hawken said his wife took him on a yacht and treated him to a £900 bottle of wine, but he prefers his local Wetherspoon pub.
‘I’m getting a little pay when you consider her potential wealth, but I don’t really want to fight it.’
Mr Hawken met Li on a blind date while he was still a teacher and she was studying English.
The couple married, but as Li’s business took off the couple spent more and more time apart. Mr Hawken says the couple have spent most of the relationship apart.
Far from driving them apart, Mr Hawken believes the distance kept them together, and says they would have divorced a long time ago if they were under the same roof.
Mr Hawken says his only regret is not getting a divorce sooner, but he didn’t push for it over fears it would affect the couple’s teenage son William, now 17.
Mr Hawken no longer teaches full-time, but instead gives free tuition to under-privileged children.
小題1:Tony Hawken is divorcing his wife Xiu Li because________.
| A．he doesn’t affect his son. |
| B．they spent less and less time together. |
| C．he is no longer a teacher. |
| D．he isn’t used to spending a lot of money. |
小題2:what does the underlined word “shunned”mean in the fourth paragraph？
| A．enjoy | B．prefer | C．a(chǎn)void | D．expect |
小題3:From the passage， we inferred that ________.
| A．Tony Hawken gave up teaching, because of his sudden wealth. |
| B．Tony Hawken wanted to divorce sooner. |
| C．Tony Hawken lived a rich life. |
| D．Tony Hawken didn’t care about his son. |
小題4:From the passage，we know that Xiu Li________.
| A．doesn’t like Mr Hawken. |
| B．is richest woman in China. |
| C．is wealthiest woman entrepreneur in Britain. |
| D．is studying English now. |
小題5:which of the following statements is true according to the passage？
| A．Mr Hawken wants to get a lot of money by divorcing |
| B．When Mr Hawken dated Xiu Li，she was an English teacher. |
| C．Mr Hawken believes it was the distance that kept them apart. |
| D．As many passed, Mr Hawken still kept his own lifestyle. |
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself．That was basic．If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life．When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone．That is part of it．But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate（錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的） pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit．