38. Pears and Plume

　　I bought some pears at my local supermarket. At the checkout¹ counter the cashier² commented, "Oh, dear, I've charged you for plums instead of pears."

　　"What's the difference?" I asked.

　　"Well," she said, "plums are smaller and round."

Notes:

　　(1) pear n.梨

　　(2) supermarket n.超级市场

　　(3) checkout n.付账出口处

　　(4) cashier n.出纳员

　　(5) comment v.说话；发表意见

Exercises:

根据短文选择正确答案：

　　① Where was the customer?

　　A. The customer was at home.

　　B. The customer was in a small fruit shop.

　　C. The customer was at a local supermarket.

　　D. The customer was at the railway station.

　　② What did the customer buy?

　　A. some plums

　　B. some pears

　　C. some apples

　　D. The author bought nothing.

　　③ What does " comment " in the sentence“ At the checkout counter the cashier commented" mean?

　　A .to say

　　B. to argue

　　C. to disagree

　　D. to permit

　　④ What did the customer mean by saying "What's the difference?

　　A .the difference between the two prices

　　B. the difference between the appearances of pears and plums

　　C. the difference between the colors of the two kinds of fruits

　　D. the difference between the tastes of the two kinds of fruits

　　⑤ From the passage we can infer³ that_____ .

　　A. probably there is no price difference between the two kinds of fruits

　　B. there is a price difference between the two kinds of fruits

　　C. the cashier didn't know the price of pears

　　D. the customer was overcharged

38.梨子与李子

　　我在市超级市场买了些梨子。在付款台，出纳员说：“噢，天哪，你这是梨子，我按李子收钱了。”

　　“有什么区别吗？”我问，

　　“哦，”她说，“李子小一点儿但很圆。”

练习参考答案：

①C②B③A④A⑤A

1 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。

2 cashier   

n.出纳员，收银员

参考例句：

• The young cashier gave a patient sigh.年轻的出纳员忍耐地叹了一口气。
• One brother is a cashier and the other sells.两个兄弟一位当出纳，另一位当店员。

3 infer   

vt.推论，推断；猜想

参考例句：

• People usually infer an unknown fact from a known fact.人们通常从已知的事实中推断未知的事实。
• From your smile I infer that you're pleased.从你的笑容，我断定你很高兴。