Introductory reading and talk

Buyingfoodstuffs in a modern supermarket can be considered a sort of art. It is the art of combating a temptation.

Supermarkets play a dirty trick on thecustomers: practically everyshopper is tempted to buy things he or she does not need or cannotafford.

The mechanism of this lamentable deceit is simple. Firstly, su­permarketsare laid out to make a person pass as manyshelves and counters as possible. Only the hardest of souls can pass loaded racks indifferently and notcollect all sorts of food from them.

Secondly, more and more supermarkets supply customers withtrolleys instead of wire baskets: their bigger volume needs more purchases. Onepicks up a smallitem, say, a pack of spaghetti, puts it into a huge trolley and is immediately ashamed of its loneliness. He or she starts adding more.

Thirdly, all products are nicelydisplayed on the racks and all of them look fresh in theirtransparent wrappings withmarked prices.A normal person cannot ignoreattractively packed goods. And so one cannot but feel an impulse to buy. And, finally, supermarkets don't forget about those wholook for bargains. The so-called"bar­gain bins" filled withspecial offers wait for their victims. No one can tell for sure if the prices are reallyreduced, but it is so nice to boast later that youhave a very good eye for a bargain.

So when a simple-hearted customer approaches acheck-out, his or her trolley ispiled high. Looking at acashier, running her pen over barcodes, he or she starts getting nervous while thecash register is adding up the prices. And, getting areceipt, he or she gives a sigh of relief if theindicated sum does not exceed thecash he or she has.

Of course, one can give a piece of advice to the simple-hearted: compile a shopping list and buy onlypre-planned goods. But is it worth losing that great sensation of buying? One can really wonder.

A lot of people prefer todo their shoppingin smallshops. The daily shopping route of some housewives includes visits to the baker's, butcher's, grocer's, greengrocer's, fishmonger's and a dairy shop. In the end of the route their bags are full ofloaves of bread, meat cuts, packs with cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy prod­ucts. Only very strong women cancall in at the tobacconist's after all that.

The explanation for this housewives' craze is very simple. In ev­ery shop theirbuys are weighed, wrapped up, theirmoney takenand thechange given back. Meanwhile they can have a chat with salesgirls andshop-assistants about their weak hearts and broken hopes.

So, friends,go shopping as often as you can. Because the simple truth is: a visit to a good shop is worth two visits to a good doctor.

1. Fancy that you take a little child to a supermarket for the first time. Ex­plain to him what you see around and what one should do.

2. Describe a) the supermarket closest to your block of flats;

b) your favourite supermarket.

3. Say how you buy goods in an ordinary shop and in a supermarket.

4. Say what one can buy in the shops mentioned in the text (baker's, butcher's, etc.)

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