英语播客 A Cup of English The best bargains at Ross.

Do you like to shop? I actually do not like to at all. I always find that I am in a hurry, I don't enjoy looking through aisles and aisles of clothes for just one piece that I like, and I get impatient when I have to wait in line. But, one thing makes a very big difference. If I can find a good bargain, then I am a happy camper. That means that I am quite content to do the shopping 'thing', just like everybody else. There is a place just over the river from here called Ross. It is one of a chain of clothing and houseware stores that sells new items for incredible bargains. But, how is that possible? As far as I know, the store buys out of season clothes and surplus items from big department stores. Now, I have a hobby of second-hand store shopping; getting ridiculously cheap items from stores that sell second-hand items. That is different all together. When you go into one of those places you never know what to expect. You know that you might not find anything suitable at all. You are very unlikely to lose money or feel cheated, because everything is so, so cheap. And, occasionally when you do find something worth buying, it feels like a major achievement. Ross gives a similar experience, but you also know that you are buying something that is brand new; it's never been used. It is brand spanking new. So, if you do happen to have some time to browse, it is worth making a trip to Ross. I bought a couple of bags worth of tops today, that I threw on in the changing rooms to make sure that everything fit well, and when I got to the check-out till, I had a smile on my face because I had managed to spend very little for what I had bought. "Good deal!" as they say around here.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: a happy camper, the aisle, houseware, brand spanking new.

1. I am a happy camper today because I got so many bargains.

2. The clothes store was huge; there were ten aisles of jeans.

3. This is a houseware catalogue. You can find anything that you can think of for your home.

4. His shiny new car is brand spanking new; he bought it an hour ago.