There is a convenience store on every other corner in this country, and we hardly look at them. For many people, though, the store is the only place open at three in the morning. (11) A worker who works at night buys a hot bun there; a person who cannot sleep sits by the window. The store sells food, (12) what it really sells is the fact that somebody is still up. In small towns in the north, the store is also where you pay a bill, send a pack, and hear the news. (13), when one closes, the town loses more than a shop. It is easy to call these places boring, (14) they hold a town together at the hours nobody sees.
A shop puts a red sign on a shirt: was 900, now 600. Most of us feel something before we think anything. (15) We do not judge 600 on its own; we judge it against the 900 we just saw. This is why the first price on a page is seldom the one the shop expects you to pay. Shops also know that once we begin to buy, we go on. A small purchase makes the next one easy, (16) the second thing often costs more than the first. (17), none of this means we are foolish. It means our sense of what something is worth is built from what sits beside it, (18) a shop can choose what sits beside it.
Ken: I am at the store. Here is what they have for the class party.
SUN MART · Wednesday Sale
Noodles, box of 30 540
Buns, pack of 10 180
Water, box of 24 240
Free bag if you spend over 1,000
Christmas cards and contact lens water also on sale
May: We have 1,000 in total. Thirty students, so we need enough for everyone.
Ken: One box of noodles and one box of water is 780. That leaves 220 for buns.
May: One pack of buns is only ten. Get two packs and we go over 1,000 by 140.
Ken: Then one pack. Not everyone eats buns anyway.
全文中譯
肯：我在店裡。這是他們有的班級派對用品。
陽光超市 · 星期三特賣
麵 30 入一箱 540
包子 10 入一包 180
水 24 入一箱 240
消費滿 1,000 送購物袋
聖誕卡與隱形眼鏡藥水同時特價
梅：我們總共有一千元。三十個學生，所以要夠每個人。
肯：一箱麵加一箱水是 780。剩 220 買包子。
梅：一包包子只有十個。買兩包就超過一千元 140。
肯：那就一包。反正不是每個人都吃包子。
Questions 19–21
19How much will Ken spend in the end?
A780
B1,000
C1,140
D960
✔ 正確答案：(D) 960
中譯肯最後會花多少錢？
解析一箱麵 540 加一箱水 240 等於 780，再加一包包子 180，共 960 元。
20Why does May say two packs of buns are a problem?
AThe store has only one pack
BBuns are not fresh
CIt would cost more than they have
DThirty students do not like buns
✔ 正確答案：(C) It would cost more than they have
中譯梅為什麼說兩包包子有問題？
解析買兩包會超過一千元 140，而他們只有一千元。
21What will Ken NOT get?
AA box of noodles
BA free bag
CA box of water
DA pack of buns
✔ 正確答案：(B) A free bag
中譯肯不會拿到什麼？
解析免費購物袋要消費滿 1,000，但他最後只花 960，所以拿不到。
NOTICE
School Fair on Saturday
Saturday · 9:00 to 15:00 · On the playground
Each class will run one shop. You may sell food you made at home, things you no longer need, or a service such as washing a bicycle. In general, think ahead about what people will want. All money goes to the library.
Set up your table between 8:00 and 8:45
No price may be over 200 dollars
Nothing may be sold after 14:30; use the last half hour to clean up
Please do not shout to bring people to your table. A sign is enough. If it rains, the fair moves to the hall, and each class gets a smaller space, so pack only what you need.
解析things you no longer need 是明列的項目之一；價格不得超過 200，食物必須是自製的。
23What must classes do in the last half hour?
AClean up
BSell everything left
CCount the money
DMove to the hall
✔ 正確答案：(A) Clean up
中譯最後半小時各班必須做什麼？
解析Nothing may be sold after 14:30; use the last half hour to clean up。
24Why does the notice say to pack only what you need?
AThere is no place to store things
BStudents must carry everything home
CSpace in the hall is smaller if it rains
DThe tables are small
✔ 正確答案：(C) Space in the hall is smaller if it rains
中譯公告為什麼說只帶必要的東西？
解析If it rains, the fair moves to the hall, and each class gets a smaller space。
EMAIL
About an Order That Never Came
Dear Sir,
On March 2 I made an order on your page for two sweaters, order number 44812. The money left my bank the same day, but nothing has come. That was three weeks ago.
I wrote to your shop twice and got the same short answer both times: the pack has been sent. If it has been sent, could you tell me the day and the name of the company carrying it? With that, I can look for it myself.
If the order was never packed, I would like my money back this week. I have bought from you before without any trouble, so I hope we can fix this quickly.
✔ 正確答案：(D) To ask for information or her money back
中譯這封信的目的是什麼？
解析她要求提供寄送資訊，若未寄出則退款，目的就是取得資訊或拿回錢。
26What answer did the shop give her?
AThe pack has been sent
BThe sweaters are all sold
CHer money was never taken
DThe order number is wrong
✔ 正確答案：(A) The pack has been sent
中譯店家給了她什麼回覆？
解析got the same short answer both times: the pack has been sent。
27Why does the writer talk about her past orders?
ATo ask for a lower price
BTo show she is a regular customer who expects better
CTo prove she knows the owner
DTo explain why she paid late
✔ 正確答案：(B) To show she is a regular customer who expects better
中譯作者為什麼提到以前的訂單？
解析I have bought from you before without any trouble，是以過往良好的購買經驗表達對這次處理的期待。
ARTICLE
What a Low Price Does Not Show
A shirt for 199 dollars looks like a win. Somebody, however, has already paid the difference.
To sell at that price, a shop must buy at a lower one. The maker then pays less for the material, gives the worker less time for each piece, and sends the shirt across the sea in a way that costs little. None of this appears on the sign in the window.
This does not actually mean a cheap thing is wrong. It means the price you see is only the part of the story that reaches you. When we ask how a shop can sell so low, we are not being difficult. We are asking the one question the sign was made to stop.