Shopping is a big part of the holiday season,when families and friends gather together and exchange gifts.While the popularity of shopping online has grown,such practices are not always eco-friendly or timely,as gifts bought online must be packaged and shipped,wasting valuable resources and time.
The benefits of shopping locally go beyond convenience and reduce your carbon footprint.The following are a few ways that shopping locally this holiday season can directly benefit your community and the people who call it home.
When men and women shop locally,they are putting money back into their local communities.Local businesses may be owned by your neighbors,and it can be comforting to know that your holiday shopping dollars are going to support a neighbor instead of a large company.Local businesses also employ your neighbors,so shopping locally can strengthen the local economy by creating jobs.
Local businesses go a long way toward creating a neighborhood identity,and that identity can create a stronger sense of community among you and your neighbors.In addition,a unique community identity can make your town more attractive to outsiders,and can also attract more people to local businesses in your neighborhood.
The gifts you buy when shopping locally can also benefit your community.Gifts purchased from small local businesses tend to be more unique than items bought from national chains,as smaller retailers tend to sell more home-made items than their national competitors.Recipients of such items may find such gifts more thoughtful than mass produced items bought from national chains.
The accessibility of customer service is another benefit of shopping locally.When you buy something from national chains,especially during the holiday season when such businesses may have to deal with orders,making contact with customer service departments can be a test of patience.A long wait on the phone or online can make the process of contacting customer service departments extremely frustrating.But such frustration is rare when shopping from local businesses,as consumers can simply buy their products in the store.In addition,shopping locally makes it more convenient for friends and family members who also live in your community to return their gifts.
【小题1】The author referred to shopping online in the passage to .| A．imply it is convenient to shop online |
| B．show it has been popular with the public |
| C．imply shopping locally is better than that |
| D．tell people they should stop wasting resources |
| A．local businesses are in poor management |
| B．shopping locally can help some people get jobs |
| C．a large company usually gains much profit |
| D．few people support local businesses |
| A．the business will raise the price of its products |
| B．the products will be sold in the distant places |
| C．it will help develop the community a lot |
| D．the community will turn into a tourist destination |
| A．The persons who receive something. |
| B．The persons who donate something. |
| C．The persons who sell something. |
| D．The persons who purchase something. |
