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

Certainly people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you’ve known them half your life. These people have something in common. And once we know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves.

How is it done? Here are several skills (技巧) that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they will help you put people at ease, and make friends with them quickly.

First of all, good talkers ask questions. Almost anyone, no matter how shy they are, will answer a question. One well-known businessman says. “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did this morning. It’s a common question, but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to other matters sometimes to really personal questions. And how they answer will let you know how far you can go.

Second, once good talkers have asked questions they listen for the answer. This point seems clear, but it isn’t. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively (专心地).

Real listening means certain things. First it means not to change the subject of conversation (对话). If someone sticks to (坚持) one topic (话题), you can take it as a fact that he’ll be really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones (语调) of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it’s time for you to change the subject.

Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion (场合) of parting. If you’re saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you.” If you want to see that person again, don’t keep it secret. Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they’ve known you half their life.

64. You’ll like to stay with certain people because ________.

       A. they know how to get along with others  

       B. you can often get much help from them

       C. they are always glad to do anything for you

       D. they will never get you into trouble

65. Asking questions might be quite a good way ________.

       A. for you to make more and more new friends

       B. to begin your business talks

       C. to get the conversation going well

       D. for you to make a deep and lasting impression (印象) on others

66. After having asked somebody a question, it’ll be polite of you to ________.

       A. make clear what kink of person he is

       B. listen to his answer attentively

       C. wait quietly and patiently for his answer

       D. talk with others

67. Generally speaking, good talkers are persons who ________.

       A. are good at making any topic interesting  

       B. never talk too much or too little

       C. always speak in a gentle way

       D. know how and when they should change the topic of the talk