Howeverwealthywemaybe,wecanneverfindenoughhoursinthedaytodoeverythingwewant.Economicsdealswiththisproblemthroughtheconceptofopportunitycost,whichsimplyreferstowhethersomeone’stimeormoneycouldbebettersp

　　Howeverwealthywemaybe,wecanneverfindenoughhoursinthedaytodoeverythingwewant.Economicsdealswiththisproblemthroughtheconceptofopportunitycost,whichsimplyreferstowhethersomeone’stimeormoneycouldbebetterspentonsomethingelse.

　　Everyhourofourtimehasavalue.Foreveryhourweworkatonejobwecouldquiteeasilybedoinganother,orbesleepingorwatchingafilm.Eachoftheseoptionshasadifferentopportunitycost—namely,whattheycostusinmissedopportunities.

　　Sayyouintendtowatchafootballmatchbuttheticketsareexpensiveanditwilltakeyouacoupleofhourstogettoandfromthestadium.Whynot,youmightreason,watchthegamefromhomeandusetheleftovermoneyandtimetohavedinnerwithfriends?This—thealternativeuseofyourcashandtime—istheopportunitycost.

　　Foreconomists,everydecisionismadebyknowledgeofwhatonemustforgo—intermsofmoneyandenjoyment—inordertotakeitup.Byknowingpreciselywhatyouarereceivingandwhatyouaremissingouton,yououghttobeabletomakebetter-informed,morereasonabledecisions.Considerthatmostfamouseconomicruleofall:there’snosuchthingasafreelunch.Evenifsomeoneofferstotakeyououttolunchforfree,thetimeyouwillspendintherestaurantstillcostsyousomethingintermsofforgoneopportunities.

　　Somepeoplefindtheideaofopportunitycostextremelydiscouraging:imaginespendingyourentirelifecalculatingwhetheryourtimewouldbebetterspentelsewheredoingsomethingmoreprofitableorenjoyable.Yet,inasenseit’shumannaturetodopreciselythat—weassesstheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofdecisionsallthetime.

　　Inthebusinessworld,apopularphraseis“valueformoney.”Peoplewanttheircashtogoasfaraspossible.However,anotherisfastobtaininganadvantage:“valuefortime.”Thebiggestrestrictiononourresourcesisthenumberofhourswecandevotetosomething,sowelooktomaximizethereturnwegetonourinvestmentoftime.Byreadingthispassageyouaregivingoverabitofyourtimewhichcouldbespentdoingotheractivities,suchassleepingandeating.Inreturn,however,thispassagewillhelpyoutothinklikeaneconomist,closelyconsideringtheopportunitycostofeachofyourdecisions.

　　小题1:Accordingtothepas