🔑al·ter·na·tiveAWBrE/ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv/NAmE/ɔːlˈtɜːrnətɪv/nounathingthatyoucanchoosetodoorhaveoutoftwoormorepossibilities可供选择的事物◆Wecanagreetotheirtermsorelsepulloutofthedealcompletely: thosearethetwoalternatives. 我们要么同意他们的条款，要么彻底退出交易。二者选其一。◆WehadnoalternativebuttofireGibson. 我们别无他法，只有辞退吉布森。◆Thereisavegetarianalternativeonthemenueveryday. 每天的菜单上另有素食餐点。optionchoice ⬥ alternative ⬥ possibility
These are all words for sth that you choose to do in a particular situation.以上各词均指某种情况下的选择。
option something that you can choose to have or do; the freedom to choose what you do指可选择的事物、选择、选择权、选择的自由：◆As I see it, we have two options…据我看，我们有两种选择…◆Students have the option of studying abroad in their second year.学生在二年级时可以选择出国学习。NOTEOption is also the word used in computing for one of the choices you can make when using a computer program. * option 亦指计算机程序里的选项、选择：◆Choose the 'Cut' option from the Edit menu.从编辑选单上选择 “剪切” 项。
choice the freedom to choose what you do; something that you can choose to have or do指选择权、选择的自由、选择、可选择的事物：◆If I had the choice, I would stop working tomorrow.如果让我选择，我明天就停止工作。◆There is a wide range of choices open to you.你有很多选择。
alternative something that you can choose to have or do out of two or more possibilities指可供选择的事物、其中一种选择：◆You can be paid in cash weekly or by cheque monthly: those are the two alternatives.你的工资可以按周以现金支取，或按月以支票支取。二者可选其一。
option, choice or alternative?用 option、choice 还是 alternative？
Choice is slightly less formal than option and alternative is slightly more formal. Choice is most often used for 'the freedom to choose', although you can sometimes also use option (but not usually alternative). * choice 较 option 稍非正式，而 alternative 更正式些。表示选择权或选择的自由最常用 choice，不过有时也可用 option，但通常不用 alternative：◆If I had the choice/option, I would…如果让我选择，我会…◆If I had the alternative, I would…◆parental choice in education父母在教育方面的选择权◆parental option/alternative in educationThings that you can choose are options, choices or alternatives. However, alternative is more frequently used to talk about choosing between two things rather than several.表示可选择的事物用 option、choice 或 alternative 均可。不过，alternative 较常用以指两个而非多个可选项。
possibility one of the different things that you can do in a particular situation指某种情况下可选择的事物：◆We need to explore a wide range of possibilities.我们需要探究各种可能的情况。◆The possibilities are endless.可想的办法是无穷的。NOTEPossibility can be used in a similar way to option, choice and alternative, but the emphasis here is less on the need to make a choice, and more on what is available. * possibility 的用法与 option、choice 和 alternative 相似，不过其重点主要在于可选择的事物而非需要作出选择。