However wealthy we may be，we can never find enough hours in the day to do everything we want．Economics deals with this problem through the concept of opportunity cost，which simply refers to whether someone's time or money could be better spent on something else．
Every hour of our time has a value．For every hour we work at one job we could quite easily be doing another，or be sleeping or watching a film．Each of these options has a different opportunity cost-namely，what they cost us in missed opportunities．
Say you intend to watch a football match but the tickets are expensive and it will take you a couple of hours to get to and from the stadium．Why not，you might reason，watch the game from home and use the leftover money and time to have dinner with friends？This-the alternative use of your cash and time-is the opportunity cost．
For economists，every decision is made by knowledge of what one must forgo（放棄）-in terms of money and enjoyment-in order to take it up．By knowing precisely what you are receiving and what you are missing out on，you ought to be able to make better in formed，more reasonable decisions．Consider that most famous economic rule of all：there's no such thing as a free lunch．Even if someone offers to take you out to lunch for free，the time you will spend in the restaurant still costs you something in terms of forgone opportunities．
Some people find the idea of opportunity cost extremely discouraging：imagine spending your entire life calculating whether your time would be better spent elsewhere doing something more profitable or enjoyable．Yet，in a sense it's human nature to do precisely that-we assess the advantages and disadvantages of decisions all the time．
In the business world，a popular phrase is "value for money"．People want their cash to go as far as possible．However，another is fast obtaining an advantage："value for time"．The biggest restriction on our resources is the number of hours we can devote to something，so we look to maximize the return we get on our investment of time．By reading this passage you are giving over a bit of your time which could be spent doing other activities，such as sleeping and eating．In return，however，this passage will help you to think like an economist，closely considering the opportunity cost of each of your decisions．
（1）According to the passage，the concept of "opportunity cost" is applied toDD．
A．making more money
B．taking more opportunities
C．reducing missed opportunities
D．weighing the choice of opportunities
（2）The "leftover…time" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to the timeCC．
A．spared for watching the match at home
B．taken to have dinner with friends
C．spent on the way to and from the match
D．saved from not going to watch the match
（3）What are forgone opportunities？BB
A．Opportunities you forget in decision making．
B．Opportunities you give up for better ones．
C．Opportunities you miss accidentally．
D．Opportunities you make up for．
【考點】日常生活．
【答案】D；C；B
【解答】
【點評】
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發(fā)布：2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷：7引用：1難度：0.5
相似題
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1．I once thought that outer beauty is the only factor to become a great person.When I was young，I read many kinds of books，most of which described characters who are handsome or beautiful.So I think that being beautiful is the only way to become a success.
As I grew up，the story of my best friend made me realize that outer beauty was not so important to make a person successful.She is so beautiful a girl that every classmate liked to chat with her，but she was very arrogant（傲慢）.In her opinion，she could get all she wanted because of her beauty，but all of her friends left her one by one!Only then did she come to know the importance of the beauty in a person's heart，which changed her attitude and she made friends again.
Turning on TV，we can see many advertisements，most of which seem to give us a feeling that，physical attractiveness is the most important thing. There seems to be a boom in plastic surgery.It is surprising that more and more people，especially girls and women，try it like the first man-made beauty in China，Hao Lulu.It is a common sense that attractive people can easily find work.Most good-looking guys，usually get higher scores in the job interviews.But what is real beauty？I want to say that is inner beauty because those who have beauty in their soul are really beautiful persons.
As is known，the beauty judged with eyes is temporary，so we should concentrate on inner beauty.And if we make the efforts to make our minds beautiful，we'll live a happier life.
（1）Why did the author want to have a good appearance when she was young？
A．Because she wanted to follow the example of her friend.
B．Because she wanted to be one of the characters in the book.
C．Because she wanted to get higher scores in the job interviews.
D．Because the successful characters in the books she read were attractive.
（2）Why did the writer refer to her friend's story？
A．To show how beautiful her friend was.
B．To show how important outer beauty is.
C．To show the importance of inner beauty.
D．To show how terrible to be a beautiful girl.
（3）What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean？
A．Surgery is becoming more and more popular.
B．More and more people pay attention to outer beauty.
C．More people can afford the price of doing plastic surgery.
D．The living standard has been improved over the past years.
（4）Which of the following covers the passage best？
A．Inner beauty is the real beauty.
B．How do attractive persons become successful？
C．The key factor to find a good job is being attractive.
D．Plastic surgery is the best way to make a person more beautiful.
（5）What do we know from the passage？
A．If you are too beautiful，all your friends will leave you out of envy.
B．If you have a good appearance，you must get higher scores in the job interviews.
C．Without the TV advertisements，there wouldn't have been a boom in plastic surgery.
D．Those who have good appearances should also develop the beauty in their hearts.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 18:0:1組卷：12引用：2難度：0.6 -
2．All routes to STEM （science，technology，engineering and mathematics） degrees run through calculus （微積分） classes.Each year，thousands of college students take introductory calculus.But only a small number ultimately complete a STEM degree，and research about why students abandon such degrees suggests that traditional calculus courses are one of the reasons.With scientific understanding and innovation increasingly central to solving 21st-century problems，this loss of talent is something society can ill afford.
Math departments alone are unlikely to solve this dilemma.Several of the promising calculus reforms were spearheaded by professors outside of math departments.STEM faculty are prioritizing cooperation across disciplines to transform math classes to cultivate a diverse generation of STEM researchers and professionals.
This is not uncharted territory.In 2013，life sciences faculty at the University of California，Los Angeles，developed a two-course sequence that covers classic calculus topics，but also emphasizes their application in a biological context.Creating this course，Mathematics for Life Scientists，wasn't easy.The life sciences faculty involved，none of whom had a joint appointment with the math department，said they turned to designing the course themselves after math faculty rejected their request for cooperation.
In Ohio，Wright State University's Engineering departments also revised math offerings.Rather than changing the content of the calculus course，they focused on preparing students for calculus by emphasizing "engineering motivation for math." The approach enhanced opportunities for students with weaker math backgrounds to succeed in engineering and doubled the average graduation rate of engineering students without reducing the average grade of graduates.Math learning is fundamental to all STEM fields，but the opposite also appears to be true.
（1）What problem is mentioned in paragraph 1？
A．Increasing STEM dropout rate.
B．The reform of calculus courses.
C．Shrinking admission to STEM majors.
D．The shaken belief in the role of calculus.
（2）What does "spearheaded" in paragraph 2 probably mean？
A．challenged
B．evaluated
C．cancelled
D．initiated
（3）What do we know about the calculus course reform according to the text？
A．STEM departments made calculus content easier to improve students' grades.
B．Math departments sought cooperation with STEM counterparts to urge reforms.
C．Placing calculus learning in specific STEM contexts is a workable approach.
D．Removing calculus is the key to increasing graduation rate of STEM students.
（4）What does "the opposite" in the last paragraph refer to？
A．The STEM fields may be the foundation of other science subjects.
B．The STEM fields may be central to making math learning effective.
C．Math learning may set barrier for science study in the STEM fields.
D．Math learning may make way for science study in the STEM fields.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:30:2組卷：24引用：3難度：0.5 -
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I thought you'd love to （20）this story．
keyboard
Yours，
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