1 . Last Monday, I visited Jalan Besar to find a new fan blade (扇叶) for a standing fan that my daughters had broken.
I’d worked in the Jalan Besar area 30 years ago and remembered that there were lots of small hardware(五金制品) shops selling unusual things so I thought that I woud have no problem finding a fan blade. However, after walking around for almost an hour, I found out that these shops were no longer around.
When I was ready to give up and go home, I spotted an old-fashioned hardware store. After being greeted by a woman, I explained my predicament. She immediately asked me to show her the broken blade. Out of nowhere, a man who looked to be in his 60s came out.
He asked to see the blade and then disappeared into the shop. He came back with a blade but it did not look the same as what I had in my hand. We compared the two blades and he said that it might work.
I asked him how much it was.
He told me that he had taken the blade off an old fan that someone had brought in for repair.
He said: “It didn’t cost me anything, so why should I charge you for it? ”
That really touched me. I took the blade home and it work perfectly! My daughters got a “new” fan for nothing.
When I told them this story, they were shocked as they are used to patronizing (经常光顾) big modern shops where everything is transactional (交易型的) and the employees go strictly by the book. Not so much my wife. She is almost in her 60s, and said this reminded her of the kind aunties and uncles who used to run small shops and were always ready to help others when she was growing up.
1. Why did the author go to Jalan Besar?| A．To visit some old friends. |
| B．To buy a new standing fan. |
| C．To apply for a highly - paid job. |
| D．To find a way to fix the broken fan. |
| A．Potential risk. | B．Basic principle. |
| C．Contact information. | D．Difficult situation. |
| A．Kind and brave. | B．Honest and helpful. |
| C．Hard - working and curious. | D．Easy - going and humorous. |
| A．She thought little of it. |
| B．She was greatly surprised. |
| C．She remembered the good old days. |
| D．She thought it was too good to be true. |
