美国的擦鞋生意正在消失

黄连英 钟翠频

Penn Station Shoe Repair and Shoe Shine is a small shoeshining business in New York City. On a recent weekday， customers sat down at the shoeshine business and pulled out newspapers and phones to read while their shoes got shined. The shoeshiners cleaned the footwear and added an oily substance to protect the shoes’ leather material. When finished， the customers paid eight dollars for the work.

Shoeshining has a long history in the United States， dating back hundreds of years. But today， the tradition of getting a quick shine is weakening. Shoeshine stands are disappearing in cities and towns across the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the business decline. More people work from home than in the past. And it has become popular to wear more casual work clothes. All this means fewer customers for shoeshining businesses.

Nisan Khaimov owns the Penn Station stand. He said his stand would shine 80 to 100 shoes each workday before the pandemic. Now it is between 30 to 50 from Tuesday to Thursday and even fewer on Mondays and Fridays. The work-from-home model that is common across America is hurting his business.

Rory Heenan is a 38-year-old accountant from Philadelphia， Pennsylvania. He said as a young boy he would take the train with his father on his way to work one Friday each month and watch him get a shoeshine.

“I would just sit here as a little guy， you know， observing，” he said. “And here I am， you know， 30 years later， doing the same thing. So， it’s certainly something that’s passed down over time.”

Across town， Jairo Cardenas is also feeling the losses. Business at Alpha Shoes Repair Corporation is down 75 percent from before the pandemic. His business used to shine 60 or 70 shoes a day. Now， on a good day， he shines shoes for 10 to 15 customers.

Shoe repairs generally bring in more money than shines. At David Mesquita’s Leather Spa， which operates five shoe repair and shine businesses in the area， the repairs are the major part of its sales. But shoeshines are still an important offering to bring people in as most shoe repair businesses do not have the service.

（材料出自“51VOA”網站，有删改）

1. Which of the following isn’t mentioned in Paragraph 1？

A. The price of shining a pair of shoes.

B. The process of shining shoes.

C. The tough life of shoeshiners.

D. The relaxation of customers.

2. What does the underlined word “intensified” in Paragraph 3 mean？

A. Slowed down. B. Speed up.

C. Hold back. D. Wake up.

3. How is the passage mainly developed？

A. By listing figures.

B. By following the place order.

C. By raising questions.

D. By giving examples.

4. What can be inferred in the last paragraph？

A. Shoeshines only exist in a few repair businesses.

B. Shoe repairs are more important than shines.

C. Shoeshines can’t attract more customers.

D. Customers don’t need the service of shoeshining.

【参考答案】

1. C。解析：细节理解题。文章第一段最后一个句子“the customers paid eight dollars for the work”提到了擦一双鞋的价格，排除A选项；第一段第三句“The shoeshiners cleaned the footwear and added an oily substance to protect the shoes’ leather material.”提到了擦鞋的过程，排除B选项；第一段第二句中的“customers sat down at the shoeshine business and pulled out newspapers and phones to read”体现了顾客在擦鞋的过程中得到了放松，排除D选项。只有C选项没提到，故选C。

2. B。解析：词义猜测题。根据文章第二段的句子“But today， the tradition of getting a quick shine is weakening. Shoeshine stands are disappearing...”，我们可知，擦鞋的传统正在减弱，擦鞋摊也正在消失。根据文章第三段最后一句“All this means fewer customers for shoeshining businesse.”，我們可知，由于疫情的影响，更多的人在家工作，穿着更随意，需要擦鞋的顾客减少了。由此可推测新型冠状病毒加剧了业务的下滑。故选B。

3. D。解析：推理判断题。根据文章的逻辑结构，我们可知，第一段是引入话题，第二、三段说明文章主题——擦鞋业务严重下滑。文章后面几段通过举不同的例子来说明擦鞋业务的下滑。因此，本文主要是通过举例来组织文章的。故选D。

4. A。解析：推理判断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句中的“most shoe repair businesses do not have the service”，我们可知，提供擦鞋服务仍然是David Mesquita’s Leather Spa吸引人们的一个重要因素，因为大多数修鞋公司都没有这项服务。由此可推断出擦鞋服务只存在于部分修鞋公司。故选A。