Chuck was thirteen when he came home from the hospital. He came home not because he was getting better but because he wanted to be with people he knew and loved when he died. I came by the house to visit him and his family several times a week during his treatment. On most of my visits, Chuck was very weak. But the last time I saw him alive, he was awake. “I have got something for you.” He pulled out a piece of crumpled (弄皺的) paper from under his pillow. “I want you to give this to my mom and dad after I die. You’ll know when it’s right, I guess, won’t you?”
“What is it?” I asked. “It’s a list of all the fun we had, and all the happy time when we laughed.” I almost gasped in great surprise.
“Like what?” I asked quietly, trying to regain my calmness.
“Like the time when Mom, Dad, Chrissie, Linda and me were dressed up as fruits and Dad was driving us to a costume party. Dad was a bunch of grapes and I was an apple, and the others were different things like bananas and pears.”
And a policewoman pulled Dad over for speeding. When the policewoman came up to the car, she looked and started laughing so hard that she could hardly stand up. And we all started laughing and she said, “Where are you all heading — a salad bar?” Dad said he was sorry to be speeding, but his kids were getting so ripe（成熟的） that they were starting to draw flies. And she laughed till she had to take off her dark glasses and wiped tears from her eyes.”
Chuck laughed and so did I. The list was full of laughing and fun. What a wonderful gift, I thought.
【小題1】Why did Chuck go home from the hospital?

My mother asked me to go to several garage sales  (宅前舊貨出售) with her one cool morning.

We finally__36__at a pleasant house in the woods.The elderly__37__told me that he and his wife were retired (退休的) teachers.As we were searching，I heard the gentleman’s wife say her__38__to someone，and I immediately__39__who she was.She looked at me and said，“You’re Lisa Miller.” I looked at her__40__，for it had been nearly thirty__41__since I had been in her class.

My mother immediately said sorry to her for any__42__I might have made.She did that again after learning that I wasn’t the sweet little child.She thought that if this woman__43__me after so many years，I must have done something__44__.My teacher looked at my mother and__45__said，“Oh，no，she was very good.”

My teacher__46__that during the last week of school，I__47__her a plant from my mother’s garden.It was a lamb’s  ear.She took us to her garden where she planted the lamb’s ear.Over the years it__48__.As I looked down her driveway  (車道) with lamb’s ears on both sides，she said，“Every day when I leave my house and drive up the driveway，I think of you.And when I come home they__49__me，I think of you.”  Tears__50__my eyes.There at her home was a piece of my  life that she had raised.

At that moment，she taught me more about__51__than I  could imagine.We give pieces of ourselves every day__52__thought.We seldom imagine the effects (影響) that we have  on others’ lives.That piece may grow and spread，becoming  a(n)__53__part of a life.In the end it isn’t the big things that  matter，__54__the small things that make all the__55__in the  world.

36．A.started　　　                                B．searched　　　 

C．stopped　　　                                   D．left

37.A.worker                                           B．owner    

C．buyer                                              D．player

  38.A.price                                         B．a(chǎn)ddress   

C．name                                              D．a(chǎn)ge

  39.A.realized                                       B．forgot    

C．learned                                             D．guessed

  40.A.surprised                                      B．worried   

C．bored                                              D．tired

  41.A.months                                       B．years     

C．days                                                  D．weeks

   42.A.future                                       B．fight  

C．excuse                                             D．trouble

   43.A.considered                                 B．saw 

C．remembered                                      D．found

   44.A.terrible                                       B．lucky   

C．friendly                                              D．special

   45.A.loudly                                        B．silently  

C．a(chǎn)ngrily                                               D．softly

   46.A.explained                                    B．reported 

C．warned                                              D．ignored

   47.A.stole                                           B．bought    

C．chose                                                D．brought

   48.A.disappeared                                B．died 

C．fell                                                     D．spread

   49.A.accept                                        B．send   

C．greet                                                 D．help

   50.A.gave up                                      B．came into

C．turned to                                             D．took away

   51.A.life                                             B．garden  

C．plants                                                D．lessons

   52.A.with                                           B．by  

C．without                                             D．through

   53.A.necessary                                   B．unimportant 

C．large                                                  D．whole

   54.A.though                                       B．but   

C．because                                             D．so

   55.A.effort                                          B．way   

C．decision                                           D．difference 

My mother asked me to go to several garage sales  (宅前舊貨出售) with her one cool morning.

We finally__26__at a pleasant house in the woods.The elderly__27__told me that he and his wife were retired (退休的) teachers.As we were searching，I heard the gentleman’s wife say her__28__to someone，and I immediately__29__who she was.She looked at me and said，“You’re Lisa Miller.” I looked at her__30__，for it had been nearly thirty__31__since I had been in her class.

My mother immediately said sorry to her for any__32__I might have made.She did that again after learning that I wasn’t the sweet little child.She thought that if this woman__33__me after so many years，I must have done something__34__.My teacher looked at my mother and__35__said，“Oh，no，she was very good.”

My teacher__36__that during the last week of school，I__37__her a plant from my mother’s garden.It was a lamb’s  ear.She took us to her garden where she planted the lamb’s ear.Over the years it__38__.As I looked down her driveway  (車道) with lamb’s ears on both sides，she said，“Every day when I leave my house and drive up the driveway，I think of you.And when I come home they__39__me，I think of you.”  Tears__40__my eyes.There at her home was a piece of my  life that she had raised.

At that moment，she taught me more about__41__than I  could imagine.We give pieces of ourselves every day__42__thought.We seldom imagine the effects (影響) that we have  on others’ lives.That piece may grow and spread，becoming  a(n)__43__part of a life.In the end it isn’t the big things that  matter，__44__the small things that make all the__45__in the  world.

26．A.started　　　                                B．searched　　　 

C．stopped　　　                                   D．left

  27.A.worker                                        B．owner   

C．buyer                                              D．player

  28.A.price                                         B．a(chǎn)ddress   

C．name                                              D．a(chǎn)ge

  29.A.realized                                       B．forgot    

C．learned                                              D．guessed

  30.A.surprised                                      B．worried   

C．bored                                              D．tired

  31.A.months                                       B．years     

C．days                                               D．weeks

   32.A.future                                       B．fight      

C．excuse                                             D．trouble

   33.A.considered                                 B．saw 

C．remembered                                      D．found

   34.A.terrible                                       B．lucky   

C．friendly                                              D．special

   35.A.loudly                                       B．reported 

C．warned                                              D．ignored

   37.A.stole                                             B．bought    

C．chose                                                D．brought

   38.A.disappeared                                B．died 

C．fell                                                     D．spread

   39.A.accept                                        B．send   

C．greet                                                 D．help

   40.A.gave up                                      B．came into 

C．turned to                                            D．took away

   41.A.life                                             B．garden  

C．plants                                                D．lessons

   42.A.with                                           B．by  

C．without                                             D．through

   43.A.necessary                                   B．unimportant 

C．large                                                  D．whole

   44.A.though                                       B．but   

C．because                                             D．so

   45.A.effort                                          B．way   

C．decision                                           D．difference 

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”?

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            .