1.4 Circle in the list the words and expressions you know. Write down their translation in the table and calculate the percentage of your lexical competence.

1	customer		9	charity
2	brand		10	on behalf of
3	offer		11	sale price
4	to charge price		12	classified advertisement
5	to go out of business		13	jumble sale
6	oriental		14	mail-order shopping
7	shopping malls		15	to pay by credit card
8	arcade		16	to place an order

Shops and Shopping

For many people in both Britain and the US shopping is a popular leisure activity. Women, especially, may let a shopping trip fill an entire day. People often go window-shopping without intending to buy anything, and may be tempted into buying goods that they do not really need. Other people, especially men, consider shopping tedious.

Two expressions, the customer is king and the customer always is right, show how Americans, and to a lesser extent British people, expect to be treated when they shop. People like to look around freely, touch things and try clothes on.

Book stores have comfortable chairs where people can sit and read, and often also a cafe. People expect to have a wide choice of goods, and most stores have several different makes or brands of each item. Price is also important. People look for special offers or wait to buy something on sale, when the prices of most goods are reduced. Most stores give a high priority to customers’ comfort and convenience, because they want to make it easy and fun for them to spend their time and money in the store.

Years ago, every British town had a range of small shops, including a grocer, a butcher, a greengrocer and a newsagent. Many of these special shops have gone out of business because large supermarkets or superstores, such as Sainsburry’s and Tesco, can charge lower price. Many supermarkets are on the edge of town and people need a car to get to them. People who don’t own a car may find shopping difficult. Some villages still have a post office and general store and in towns there are usually several corner shops and mini-markets selling food and other items. Petrol stations often have a small shop selling food.

In the US people may drive half an hour or more to a supermarket, and so to buy food lasts them a long time. Between trips, they buy food at small grocery stores or convenience stores close to where they live. Some are a part of big chains, some are mom- and pop-stores run by a family, others sell oriental or other foreign foods. Convenience stores are more expensive than supermarkets.

In the US many food stores are open 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Others are open until at least 11 p.m. In Britain supermarkets may stay open for 24 hours on some days, but most food shops close at 9 p.m. or earlier.

Many British people buy fruit and vegetables at a market because they are cheaper than in the supermarket. By contrast, food sold in markets in the US is usually more expensive. Many markets also sell clothes and household goods.

In Britain town centre shops are busiest at weekday lunchtimes and on Saturdays. Most of the shops are chain stores or department stores which sell clothes, shoes and things for the home. Prices are fixed, and most items have a price tag attached. Many towns have a covered shopping arcade or precinct, or an out-of-town shopping centre with branches of all the major stores.

Americans used formerly to shop in the downtown areas of cities. In places like New York and Philadelphia there is still plenty of choice in downtown shopping, but elsewhere downtown shops have lost business to shopping malls, which people go to by car. A typical mall has one or more anchor stores, well known stores which attract people in. The Mall of America in Minnesota is one of the largest, with 400 stores on four levels.

Outlet malls have stores selling products at lower prices than in ordinary stores. The goods may be seconds (items with a slight fault), or have failed to sell during the previous season. In Britain outlet stores can usually be found in out-of town shopping villages.

Many people buy second-hand books, clothes, toys and household goods. Most towns have at least one second-hand shop run by a charity, to which people give things they no longer want so that they can be sold to raise money for the charity. Other second-hand shops sell things on behalf of people and give them part of the sale price. People also buy and sell things through the classified advertisements columns in newspapers.

In the US garage sales and yard sales also enable people to sell things they no longer want. Many people make a hobby out of going to garage sales to look for bargains. In Britain car boot sales are equally popular. Sometimes people organize a jumble sale (AmE rummage sale) to raise money for a school or charity.

Mail-order shopping has a long tradition in the US. In the days when people were moving west many people lived a long way from any shops. The solution was the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, a thick book giving descriptions of every kind of product. People sent in their order by mail and the goods arrived the same way. Although Sears stopped producing its catalogue in the 1990s, mail-order shopping is still popular. People can now also browse the products of many companies on the Internet, place an order and pay by credit card. There are several mail-order services in Britain and shopping on-line, especially for books, is becoming increasingly popular.