秋叶成为英国高级超市售卖品

陕西 欧卫国

一叶知秋，遍地的秋叶是大家最为司空见惯的了，但在英国秋叶却变成了高级超市售卖的商品，这是为何？ 超市的管理人员做出了回答。

题材社会体裁记叙文文章词数 难度 建议用时317 ★★ 6 分钟

UK-based supermarket Waitrose has been slammed by social media users for selling “autumn seasonal foliage（叶）” 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 （价格过高的）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. 尽管顾客对这款秋季主题产品的反馈普遍是负面的，但是这家英国超市解释道，他们决定对一捆树叶收费6英镑是受到了消费者需求的启发。

【点石成金】本句为一个主从复合句。Despite后的部分表示让步；explained后是省略了that的宾语 从 句；that it was inspired by a demand from shoppers 为claim 的 宾 语；to charge 6 pounds for a bunch of tree leaves为不定式短语作名词decision的定语。