The story behind the shopping cart

Characters

Sylvan Goldman – owner of a grocery shop

Fred Young – Sylvan’s friend, a mechanic(机械师)

One night in 1936, in an American city. Inside Fred’s workshop, Sylvan sits next to Fred, who is making adjustments(调试) to their new i? 1. – a shopping cart.

Sylvan:????????????? My customers don’t like our shopping cart.

Fred:????????????? Really? So they p? 2. shopping with those heavy baskets?

Sylvan:????????????? (nods) I’ve got a huge crowd of customers every day, b 3. none of them wants to use the cart.

Fred:????????????? I don’t understand. We invented the cart so that people don’t need to carry a basket around the shop.

Sylvan:????????????? (laughs) And so that they will buy more groceries!

Fred:????????????? So why don’t they like the shopping cart?

Sylvan:????????????? Young men think that pushing a cart around makes them look w 4. and slow, and young women think it’s unfashionable.

Fred:????????????? Of course it isn’t fashionable right now. It’s only just been invented! But I’m sure older people will appreciate it.

Sylvan:????????????? Um…

Fred:????????????? What? They don’t like the cart e? 5.? ?

Sylvan:????????????? Well, they think pushing it makes them look helpless!

Fred:????????????? Oh no. We need to do something, Fred. We can’t just g? 6. up on this invention!

Sylvan:????????????? We won’t. (He gets up and walks around the room. Suddenly, he stops.) Aha! I’ve got an idea.

Fred:????????????? What is it?

Sylvan:????????????? I’ll hire(雇佣) some good-looking guys and girls to push the carts around and pretend they’re shopping.

Fred:????????????? Oh! So the real shoppers will see these attractive people using the carts and think, “Hey, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me!”

Sylvan:????????????? E 7. .

Fred:????????????? Hey! Maybe you could get one of the girls to greet your customers and encourage them to use the cart.

Sylvan:????????????? Great idea!

There would be a school party on Friday evening. The girls were talking about what they were going to wear.

“I’m going to wear a black dress, so everybody will notice me,” said Emily. “How about you, Linda?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe jeans, an old shirt, and a hat. People will notice me more than you!” Linda said.

“What are we going to do about the boys?” asked Jane. “Do you remember the last school party, last year? They just stood there, and we girls had to dance by ourselves!”

  “I hear that some of the boys learned how to dance this summer. Maybe it’ll be better

this time,” said Mary.

   The party was held on Friday evening. Groups of students arrived. The music began. The girls stood in a line on one side, and the boys on another side. Mr. Green, their teacher, tried to get them together, but failed. After a while, Tim said, “I don’t want to stand here the whole time. The party is only for two hours. It’ll be over soon.” He started to dance. All the others watched him. Then David asked Emily if she wanted to dance. Then Jack and Linda. Then, all began to dance. Soon there were more dancers than watchers.

1.Before the school party, the girls were mainly discussing __________.

A. the dance at the party                 

B. the teacher at the party

C. the dresses they would wear at the party  

D. the boys at the party

2. The girls wanted people to _________.

   A. buy them some dresses                

B. teach them how to dance

   C. notice them                         

D. invite them to the school party

3.. The teachers tried to ___________.

   A. invite the girls to dance

   B. play music instead of dancing

   C. get the girls and boys to dance alone

   D. get the girls and boys to dance together

4. The party was ______________ last year.

   A. better than   B. not so good as

   C. as good as   D. as bad as

There would be a school party on Friday evening. The girls were talking about what they were going to wear.
“I’m going to wear a black dress, so everybody will notice me,” said Emily. “How about you, Linda?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe jeans, an old shirt, and a hat. People will notice me more than you!” Linda said.
“What are we going to do about the boys?” asked Jane. “Do you remember the last school party, last year? They just stood there, and we girls had to dance by ourselves!”
“I hear that some of the boys learned how to dance this summer. Maybe it’ll be better
this time,” said Mary.
The party was held on Friday evening. Groups of students arrived. The music began. The girls stood in a line on one side, and the boys on another side. Mr. Green, their teacher, tried to get them together, but failed. After a while, Tim said, “I don’t want to stand here the whole time. The party is only for two hours. It’ll be over soon.” He started to dance. All the others watched him. Then David asked Emily if she wanted to dance. Then Jack and Linda. Then, all began to dance. Soon there were more dancers than watchers.
【小题1】Before the school party, the girls were mainly discussing __________.