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!

Two years ago．my husband bought me a bicycle．If you live in a town，it is often faster than a car and you don’t have to worry about parking（停车）．Yon can leave it anywhere．As it has a seat at the back and a basket at the front，I can take my small daughter to school，to the library，to the shops，to anywhere．

    I use it most in summer when the weather is warm and dry．It can be very unpleasant in winter when it is cold and the rain is heavy．

    You must of course be careful on a bicycle．Accidents are not the only problem though（尽管）．One day I went shopping and came back to find my front wheel（轮）missing．It was a long walk to the bicycle shop．Now I have three strong locks．

    My husband uses my bicycle sometimes、for short journeys．He says it is better than waiting for a bus．He still uses his car for longer journeys，but I think that all this sitting down is making him fat and lazy．On my bicycle I get a lot of exercises and fresh air，and this makes me feel a lot younger．

    根据短文内容，完成下面的表格。

Hi, everyone, I’m Jane. Two years ago, my husband bought me a bicycle. If you live in a town, it is often faster than a car and you don’t have to worry about parking. You can leave it anywhere. As it has a seat at the back and a basket in the front, I can take my small daughter to school, to the library, to the shops, and to anywhere.
I use it most in summer when the weather is warm and dry. It can be very unpleasant in winter when it is cold and the snow is heavy. Of course, you must be careful on a bicycle. Accidents are not the only problem. One day I went shopping with my friends. But when I came back, I found that my bike’s front wheel was missing. It was a long walk to the bicycle shop. Now I have three strong locks(锁).
My husband uses my bicycle sometimes for short journeys. He says it is better than waiting for a bus. He still uses his car for longer journeys, but I think that all the sitting down is making him fat and lazy. I like riding on my bicycle because I can exercise a lot and get much fresh air, and this makes me feel much younger.
【小题1】Jane thinks a bicycle is __________ than a car if you live in a town.
【小题2】It’s convenient to use a bicycle because you can ride it to anywhere and needn’t worry about __________.
【小题3】When it is __________ in summer, Jane rides her bicycle.
【小题4】For short journey, Jane’s husband doesn’t want to wait for a bus. He would like to __________.
【小题5】Jane can get a lot of __________ and fresh air, so she likes riding very much.