Mrs. Kao has run a small shop on our corner since I was a child. She knows which customer likes soft bread and who cannot eat sugar. When a child begins to cry at her door, she always comes out. Two years ago a big supermarket opened across the road. (11) Her shop grew quiet, and she began to close at seven. Then something strange happened. People who had moved to the supermarket started coming back, (12) they missed being known by name. Mrs. Kao never made her prices lower. (13), she wrote each regular customer's favorite item on a card behind the desk. Her shop is still small, and she does not worry about the supermarket anymore, (14) nobody in our street calls it old.
A banana on a supermarket shelf looks simple, but it has already made a long trip. A farmer in the south picks it while it is still green, and cold does not kill it on the way. A company puts it in a cold box, and a truck brings it north along the highway. (15) By the time you pay for it, five or six businesses have each taken a small part of the price. Most people never think about this, (16) they only see the number on the shelf. Some markets now print the farmer's name beside the fruit. (17), people can see who grew it. It costs the market nothing, (18) many customers say they like the idea.