Okay, raise your hand if you love shopping. What? No men? In the American stereotype, women love spending a day shopping at the mall, while men sit glumly on a bench, holding the bags. (And we thank them for that. :) ) A large mall is a shopper’s dream come true; there are specialty stores for everything! There are stores for kids and stores for kitchens; stores for makeup and stores for men; bookstores and shoe stores and toy stores and drugstores . . . well, you get the idea. Malls have at least one anchor department store. This is the place to head if you prefer shopping for everything in one store. These large stores carry everything from clothing to housewares. Want to smell like a million bucks? Stop at the perfume counter for a free sample of your favorite fragrance. And that’s the main advantage of a department store or big indoor shopping mall—you can shop for everything in one place. There are no worries about bad weather. Even your car can stay dry and warm in the mall parking garage! (Raise your hand if you’ve ever lost your car in a parking garage. “But I was so sure I parked right . . . here . . . ”)
Although the large, enclosed malls bring people from all over, the suburbs also have smaller, local malls. These strip malls usually have convenience shops where people can take care of their errands. The stores are lined up next to each other, and the front doors open onto an outdoor walkway. Strip malls usually have a small takeout restaurant, a dry cleaner, a bank branch, and a drugstore. Parking is right in front of the stores, so people can hop out quickly and run in for what they need. In bad weather this may not be fun, but it’s much quicker than parking in a large garage at the mall. And it’s easier to find your car!
LIA: Hey, look outside. Very bad weather . . . very good mall day!
ALAN: No! Not the mall! Anything but the mall!
LIA: Calm down. You won’t have to go into every store with me. I just want to do some window-shopping. Besides, the sporting goods store is having a great sale on sports equipment. You might find the tennis racket you’ve been looking for. Look at this ad from the paper: “Super sale! Many rackets to choose from!”
ALAN: Yeah. I really do need a new tennis racket. Okay, if I go, how much time will we have to spend there? I’d like to watch the game this afternoon.
LIA: We don’t have to stay very long. There are a few things I’d like to look at in the department store, so that will take less time than walking around the whole mall.
ALAN: Going to the sporting goods store is a great idea. Actually, if there aren’t too many stores you plan to visit, then I don’t mind going with you. In fact, maybe we could stop at a big box store on the way home. I could use some garden supplies.
LIA: Sure! If we make a day of it, we could have lunch at the food court.
ALAN: I’d rather stop at the strip mall in town and get fried chicken takeout.
LIA: If you come with me to the mall, we can have anything you want for lunch!
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Shopping malls have a customer service area where you can get information about the stores in the mall. They have strollers to rent and, at holiday times, offer gift wrapping of your purchases. You can also buy gift cards at customer service. |
Fun Fact!
In Washington, D.C., the Mall is the large, grassy open area from the U.S. Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial. Besides some of the most important museums in the country, there’s shopping here, too, with vendors selling souvenirs.
Pronunciation Pointer
In the United States, Americans pronounce mall as mawl, like the words tall, small, and fall.
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VOCABULARY
ad: short for advertisement; information about an item for sale
anchor store: a large store at a mall to attract many shoppers
big box store: huge warehouse-type store (There are home supplies stores and electronics stores, among others.)
branch: an office of a large company or bank
carry: keep in stock; offer for sale
department store: a very large store with many departments or sections that offer different types of merchandise
drugstore: pharmacy (You can get prescriptions for medicine filled here, but you can also buy many other general and personal items.)
enclosed mall: a center with many stores and inside walkways
food court: the area of a shopping mall where the fast food shops are located
gift card: a prepaid card that works like a credit card (When a person uses the gift card for a purchase, the amount is deducted from the balance.)
glum: unhappy
housewares: items for the home
main: most important
mind: object to
run in: go into a store quickly for just an item or two
sample: a small size of an item to try. Free! No cost!
souvenir: a special purchase of something to remember your visit
specialty store: a store that carries just one kind of merchandise
stereotype: a belief that may not be accurate about an entire group of people
strip mall: a line of shops along a street
stroller: small carriage or cart you can use so small children don’t have to walk
window-shopping: looking at things in stores, but not buying anything (yeah, right, haha).
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