Grocery Shopping

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• unlimited
• opportunities
• groceries
• diversity

• convenience store
• chain
• mom 'n' pop shop
• in bulk

• organic
• ethnic
• expand your horizons

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

If you’re in the U.S. you have almost unlimited opportunities to shop. One of the most important things to shop for, obviously, is groceries. Luckily, there is a wide diversity of grocery stores, so you should be able to find anything and everything you’re looking for.
Read on to learn more about where to get the stuff you need!

Dialog

1. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Several different types of grocery stores exist in the U.S. You can choose from them by first deciding whether you want to make a quick stop, or buy a lot of groceries at once. If you’re just looking for a few things and you’re in a hurry, you should go to a convenience store. There are several large national chains of convenience stores (like 7-11, AM/PM, Circle K and Plaid Pantry), as well as small mom ‘n’ pop shops. In addition, you can find small convenience stores at most gas stations. Most convenience stores are open until very late at night.
If you’re in need of a lot of lots of groceries, you should go to a supermarket, or a discount warehouse. Supermarkets are large groceries stores that carry everything from fresh produce to laundry detergent (like Safeway, Kroger’s, Vaugn’s, Food Emporium, and King Sooper). At a supermarket, you can buy as much, or as little stuff as you need.
At a discount warehouse, the prices are lower than at supermarkets, but you have to buy things in bulk. For example, instead of buying just one box of cereal, you might have to buy two or three at once. Discount warehouses (like Costo and Sam’s Club) have become extremely popular in the past 10 years or so, because for many Americans bigger means better.
If you’re looking for specialty items, like organic and/or natural foods, you’ll want to go to one of the natural food stores (like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or Wild Oats). Or, if you want to find ethnic foods, you’ll have to search for the markets that specialize in them. Supermarkets usually have some ethnic foods, but you’ll find a better selection elsewhere. There are some chains that carry Asian foods (like Uwajimaya), but for the most part you’ll have to look for the locally owned store in your area.

 

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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