Raelene Heldt, a friend of my grandmother, if she were alive today, would never be able to deal with a visit to the modern supermarket, especially endless kinds of milk. It would be too much for her. She’d feel cheated. Because back in her day, in India, she was known among the vendors(商贩) who went selling their wares from door-to-door.
You had to bring her the genuine article(真货), or you simply would not receive her custom(惠顾). In the 60s, custom was a huge thing. “She had a way with people,” my granny used to say. “If you mess with her, you get told off and never ever again enjoy her custom.’
The freshest fish, the best meat, the juiciest … they all went to Raelene first and only after she’d had her pick was the rest taken to be sold to others. How did this all come about? Well, it began with the milkman.
The milkman made his rounds around the colony with a huge can of milk on his bicycle. Raelene’s house happened to be at the milkman’s run. Once he got there, he’d take the bowl placed outside the Raelene’s door and measure a litre of milk. In most cases, it was just a routine business exchange.
However, one day, Raelene happened to be drinking tea at her friend Jill’s place. The milk in the cup was so thick it gave the tea such a rich taste. “Show me your milk, Jill,” said Raelene. Jill let her have a look. And something things in her mind.
Jill happened to live at the very head of the village so she got the first delivery(递送) of milk, which was very good, pure, thick. But by the time the milk reached Raelene’s door, it had water added.
This Raelene found out about. And once “the cat was out of the bag”, Raelene said to the milkman, “If you want to keep my custom, you’ll bring your cow with you to my door and milk it right before my eyes. Otherwise, I’m not interested.”
And you know what? The milkman agreed. Those were, indeed, different times.
12. What can be learned from Paragraph2?
A.Raelene got on well with people. |
B.Customers got on well with vendors. |
C.Raelene was good at dealing with vendors. |
D.Vendors were looked down upon in the 60s. |
13. What did Raelene find out after going to her friend Jill's place?
A.The milkman cheated her. | B.Jill added water to her milk. |
C.Jill was skilled at preparing tea. | D.The milkman added waler to Jill's milk. |
14. How did the milkman treat Raelene later?
A.He gave her a cow. | B.He tried to avoid her. |
C.He refused to sell milk to her. | D.He provided her with good milk. |
15. What might be the author's opinion of Raelene?
A.She is smart. | B.She is horrible. |
C.She is shallow. | D.She is well -meaning. |