8 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. including B. urgent C. features D. targets E. lengths F. chasing
G. accused H. commands I. fed J. restock K. collecting |
Pokemon Stickers Are Back for Koreans Nostalgic (怀旧的) for Childhood
Small pastries include a surprise sticker, and the goal is to find all 159 varieties — just like a trend more than 20 years ago.
Jeong Bo-ram’s new fascination has him 1 mass-produced pastries(糕点), delivery trucks and his childhood memories. His 2 are $1.20 bakery items sold with random Pokemon stickers that fly off store shelves in South Korea.
Just a few short of a full 159-sticker collection, 29-year-old Mr. Jeong has gone to more than 10 convenience stores and supermarkets a day, often leaving empty-handed. He has paid hundreds of dollars. He has learned the evening 3 times throughout his neighborhood to know when fresh drop-offs occur.
More than two decades ago, the Pokemon sticker-treat duo caught on with a generation of South Korean children, before the craze passed after a few years and the products were discontinued. Now the goodies are back just in time for the country’s broader retro boom, 4 by adults nostaglic for simpler times.
South Koreans are going to great 5 to live out the Pokemon tagline of “Gotta catch ’em all,” with some 6 the stickers in display booklets. Pokemon, originally a Japanese game for the Nintendo Game Boy that 7 hundreds of monster characters, has expanded into globally popular animated series, toys and video-games, 8 the recent hit Pokemon Go for smartphones.
Retailers have posted signs on their entrances that read, “We have no Pokemon bread,” while some store owners are 9 of bundling the in-demand pastries with unpopular items. Hunters camp outside supermarkets early in the morning. The rarest of stickers, such as that of the legendary characters Mew (梦幻) and Mewtwo (超梦), fetch $40 online. A full collection 10 more than $700, the listings show. Actual children also try to find the stickers, but adults are using their greater resources for the hunt.
Ko Hyo-jin shrieked when she ripped open a package of “Diglett Strawberry Custard Bread” recently and discovered inside a sticker of Mewtwo - a two-legged monster shown extending its paw. She immediately dialed up her husband. “It felt like winning the lottery,” said the 39-year-old homemaker in the Seoul Suburbs.
The nostalgic chase has been embraced by young adults facing Korea’s stagnant economy, soaring real-estate prices and a tight labor market.
