Sam and His Store

Sam was a grocer（杂货商） in the Bronx. All his life he had worked hard, first as the only employee in the same small grocery, and then as its owner. The store, which opened at 7:30 A.M., never closed before eight in the evening----and often later, for Sam never refused to serve late customers when he was still around cleaning up the place. His wife helped during most of the day, and her sister came in the morning to prepare the sandwiches that they would sell at noontime. Sam's three children had always been expected to give a hand when not in school or doing their homework.

Sam took his long days as a matter of course. Like most men of his age and modest background, he regarded work as the normal human fate. He didn't resent（怨恨）taking pains to assure the financial security（安全） of his family because he was convinced（被说服） that anything of value has to be earned. Surely, it never occurred （出现在某人脑海里）to Sam to wonder whether this security was costing him too much freedom（自由） and personal happiness. For one thing, he didn't consider himself unhappy or unfairly burdened（使负担）. He was just a man doing his duty. Besides, he had his rewards（报酬）, the store had prospered nicely since he had bought it and he felt proud of his success. It was good also to know that he had earned the respect and friendship of his neighbors; it was good to feel needed, responsible, and liked.

For Sam the little store didn't represent only a hard way to make a living and to provide his sons with the education that he had not received himself. It was not just a place to work. It was his true home, his world, the very center of his life, and his pleasure as well. He enjoyed his daily conversations with his customers, the jokes he shared with the policeman, and the company of Fred, the tailor next door, who came every day for an apple and a bit of gossip（闲聊）. During the quiet hours of mid afternoon, Sam would stand at his door, between the oranges and the potatoes, happily surveying（眺望） his street. He belonged there, in this community of shopkeepers who shared his problems and his satisfactions.

Sam's sons tried in vain （无效的）to talk him into retiring at seventy. He couldn't imagine a life away from his store, his responsibilities, his friends; the very idea of doing nothing made him uncomfortable. Sam ran his store until he was seventy-four. One morning, as he was carrying a box of apples outside, he collapsed（昏倒） and died of a heart attack without having been sick or idle（懒散） one day. That was pretty much what he had hoped for.

At the time of his father's death, Sam's youngest son George was thirty-eight years old. A geologist（地质学家）, he held a demanding and highly paid position with a company that built nuclear reactors（核反应堆）. He had to explore （探索）possible locations for new reactors and to study the ground to see if it was safe. The job involved much traveling, but George didn't seem to mind being away from his family for long periods of time, and spending evenings on paperwork when he was back home. The resulting breakup of his marriage saddened him without bringing any change in his way of life. Anyone who knew George would have described him as a hard-working, ambitious（有抱负的）, competitive（竞争的）man with a splendid future in the company.

Eleven months after his father's death, George stopped working. He was not fired（被解雇）; he was not pushed out by a rival（竞争对手-）; he simply quit（辞职）. His friends could hardly believe the news at first. When they tried to get an explanation, George told them that, after much reflection（考虑）, he had
reached the conclusion（结论） that his beloved career was robbing him of his life. He had always been too busy to pay attention to anything that was not connected with his work; too busy to pay attention to anything that was not connected with his work; too busy to share the interests of his wife; too busy to see the days and the years go by. In short, he had been nothing but a successful robot（机器人）. Now he was going to stop running and take a good look at the world. He wanted to get to know himself, to watch the birds in his garden, and to become aware of the passage （流逝）of time. No, he said, he had no intention （打算）of looking for another job after a while; and he had no desire to travel. He was just going to live and think in peace, at leisure.

Reading Two

Car Buying Tips

When you look at buying a new car, make sure you factor（经管） in all the monthly costs like insurance（保险）, gas and maintenance（保养）. This is where your affordable car can become a money pit（坑） if you're not careful. Once you know how much you can carry each month, stick to your guns and don't go over your budget. That may mean looking at a lower model of car or going to the used car lot for the vehicle（汽车） you really want.

Researching the vehicles that interest you and arming yourself with this knowledge will bring you half way down the road to your purchase. And most of this preliminary（事先的） study can be done without even setting foot outside your front door.

There are more and more car-buying tools available to consumers on the Internet. There are several great Canadian auto sites that have vehicle quote information and research libraries with consumer reports and test drive results.

You can also go directly to the car manufacturer's（制造商的） sites to get safety information, vehicle quotes and to search for the nearest dealer. If you have a trade-in（折价物）, know its value before you go to the dealer. Don't let the dealer（经销商） tell you what your car is worth. Sometimes you may think you are getting a great deal on the new car, but the car dealers are undercutting（减价） you on your trade-in.

It is customary to go for a test drive before you do any negotiations（谈判）. Most dealerships require that you bring a sales person along with you. This can be intimidating（使人恐惧）, but don't let it stop you from examining all features of the car. Make a checklist of the things you want in a car (e.g. comfort, acceleration（加速）, handling) and take the list with you to the dealer. Go over it while you are still in the car and while everything is still fresh in your mind.

When you sit down at the sales person's desk, don't be nervous. Stay calm. You are the one in the proverbial（众所周知的）driver's seat here. Remember, the sales person needs your money far more than you need his vehicle.

No matter how you intend to pay (e.g. lease, finance, cash) make sure you negotiate on the full price of the vehicle. Some sales people will try to offer you a price by outlining the payment plan because it is easier to hide extra costs and confuse the buyer. Don't stand for that. You can let them know how you're going to pay for the car AFTER you have the price you want.

When you're making an offer on your car, negotiate up from the invoice price. Do not go down from the price on the window. Invoice prices in Canadian dollars are available on the Web for a price at www.carcostcanada.com, but could be well worth the investment of $30 if you save hundreds on the deal.

Decide what you can live with - and without - on your car. If you decide you only need the economy package, don't let the sales person talk you into anything else, no matter how attractive it may sound at the time. Besides, most dealers will throw options into the deal if they think it will make the sale.