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Now, the VOA |
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Special English program |
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WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. |
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Making choices is necessary, |
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but not always easy. |
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Many of our expressions |
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tell about this difficulty. |
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One of these expressions |
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is Hobson's choice. |
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It often is used to |
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describe a difficult choice. |
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But that is not |
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what it really means. |
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Its real meaning is |
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to have no choice at all. |
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The Hobson in the expression |
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was Thomas Hobson. |
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Mister Hobson owned |
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a stable of horses |
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in Cambridge, England. |
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Mister Hobson often |
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rented horses to the students |
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at Cambridge University. |
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But, he did not really trust them |
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to take good care of the horses. |
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So, he had a rule |
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that prevented the students |
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from riding his best horses. |
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They could take the horse |
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that was nearest the stable door. |
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Or, they could not |
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take any horse at all. |
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Thus, a Hobson's choice |
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was really no choice. |
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Another expression |
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for having no real choice |
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is between a rock and a hard place. |
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It is often used to describe |
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a difficult situation |
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with few choices, |
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none of them good. |
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For example, your boss may |
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ask you to work late. |
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But you have plans to go to |
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a movie with your friends. |
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If you refuse to work, |
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your boss gets angry. |
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But if you do not go to the movies |
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with your friends, |
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they may get angry. |
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So what do you do? |
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You are caught between |
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a rock and a hard place. |
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Another expression, |
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between the devil |
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and the deep blue sea, |
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also gives you a choice |
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between two equally dangerous things. |
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Its meaning seems clear. |
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You can choose the devil |
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and his burning fires of hell. |
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Or, you can choose |
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to drown in the sea. |
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Some word experts say |
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the expression comes from |
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the days of wooden ships. |
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The devil is a word for a seam |
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between two pieces of wood |
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along the water-line of a ship. |
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If the seam or crack between |
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the two pieces of wood |
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begins to leak, |
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then a sailor must fix it. |
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The sailor ordered to make |
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the repairs was |
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in a dangerous situation. |
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He was hanging over the side |
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of the ship, working |
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between the devil |
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and the deep blue sea. |
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There is still another expression |
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that describes a situation |
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with only bad choices, |
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being on the horns of a dilemma. |
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The dictionary says |
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a dilemma is a situation |
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in which you must make a decision |
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about two equally balanced choices. |
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When your dilemma has horns, |
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a choice becomes impossible. |
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When you are on the horns |
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of a dilemma, no matter |
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which horn you choose, |
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something bad will happen. |
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(MUSIC) |
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This VOA Special English program, |
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WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, |
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was written by Marilyn Christiano. |
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I'm Christopher Cruise. |
