秋葉成為英國高級超市售賣品

陜西 歐衛國

一葉知秋，遍地的秋葉是大家最為司空見慣的了，但在英國秋葉卻變成了高級超市售賣的商品，這是為何？ 超市的管理人員做出了回答。

題材社會體裁記敘文文章詞數 難度 建議用時317 ★★ 6 分鐘

UK-based supermarket Waitrose has been slammed by social media users for selling “autumn seasonal foliage（葉）” at 6 pounds apiece.

Photos of various tree leaves packaged in transparent plastic foil and arranged as flower bouquets went on social media lately, sparking debate because of the product's price. Considering tree leaves can be picked up from the street, it's understandable that some people accused the supermarket of trying to make so much money.

“A bag of actual leaves? I'll sell you a bin bag of leaves for 10 pounds,” one Twitter user wrote.

“This has got to be from the drunk Monday morning meeting category of ideas,” someone else commented.

Apparently, the bizarre foliage appeared on Waitrose supermarket shelves as a way to “bring the outdoors inside”.

“Bring the outdoors indoors with freshly picked flowers that reflect the colors of the season,” the official product description read. “We source the best blooms from expert growers, and handle them gently on their journey to our stores so they look beautiful for longer.”

Despite the generally negative feedback on its autumn-themed product, the British supermarket explained its decision to charge 6 pounds for a bunch of tree leaves by claiming that it was inspired by a demand from shoppers.

“We've seen a really strong demand for autumn foliage—our customers love using these seasonal flowers to brighten their homes,” a Waitrose spokesperson explained.

Interestingly, there were those who seemed to somewhat justify the price tag of__“high quality foliage”. That may be true, but considering you could buy flower bouquets or even bottles of wine for that same price or less, it still seems like a money grab.

This isn't the first time that supermarkets have sold free things at exorbitant （價格過高的）prices. First, there is a posh shop in London, that sold painted logs for $14 apiece, and there was artisan shop Botanique and its $22 chopped tree branches.

Reading Check

1. How much is the autumn seasonal foliage sold apiece in UK supermarket Waitrose?

A. 6 pounds. B. 10 pounds.

C. 14 dollars. D. 22 dollars.

2. Why were many people unwilling to buy the seasonal leaves in the UK supermarket?

A. They are more cheaper. B. They are out of fashion.

C. They are too expensive. D. They are less beautiful.

3. According to the spokesperson, the autumn foliage sold is chiefly designed to ______.

A. help customers save money

B. decorate customers' home

C. meet people's strong need for flowers

D. offer customers outdoor experiences

4. What's customers' attitude towards the product according to the underlined part?

A. Positive. B. Negative. C. Neutral. D. Unclear.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Despite the generally negative feedback on its autumn-themed product, the British supermarket explained its decision to charge 6 pounds for a bunch of tree leaves by claiming that it was inspired by a demand from shoppers. 盡管顧客對這款秋季主題產品的反饋普遍是負面的，但是這家英國超市解釋道，他們決定對一捆樹葉收費6英鎊是受到了消費者需求的啟發。

【點石成金】本句為一個主從復合句。Despite后的部分表示讓步；explained后是省略了that的賓語 從 句；that it was inspired by a demand from shoppers 為claim 的 賓 語；to charge 6 pounds for a bunch of tree leaves為不定式短語作名詞decision的定語。