UNIT

6 Moments in Time
LE V EL 3 – RE A DING WORK SHEE T: Services PAGE 1 OF 2

READING
Read the text. What do you know about the history of grocery stores?

Self-Service Shopping
When the first Piggly Wiggly store opened in Memphis,
Tennessee, in 1916, it was the start of a shopping
revolution. It was the first self-service grocery store.
That meant that customers came to the store, took the
products from the shelves, and placed them in a metal
basket. They then went to a cash desk to pay for the
products. Shopping like that may seem familiar, because
that’s how many of us shop every day. However, in those
days it was a completely new experience. To understand
how new it was, you need to know how people had
always shopped before then.
carry the products through the store. For the customer,
Usually, stores had a counter, with the customer on one
it meant less waiting time and the ability to compare
side and the storekeeper on the other. All the products
prices. For the storekeeper, it meant that many more
were on shelves behind the storekeeper. The customer
customers could be served at the same time. The idea
had to ask the storekeeper, or a clerk, for each item
was a success, and soon many more Piggly Wiggly stores
individually, and the storekeeper then placed the item on
opened around the country.
the counter or into the customer’s bag. For items such as
flour and coffee, the storekeeper or clerk had to weigh By 1930, the idea had become very popular, and the
each order individually. They then had to wrap each first supermarket opened in Long Island, New York.
order. It was a very slow process, and unhappy customers Two different inventions made this possible. The first was
spent a long time waiting in line because the storekeeper the automobile. It was now easy for people to travel to a
could only serve one person at a time. It was also hard large store on the edge of town and carry their groceries
to make buying decisions because customers usually home. The second was the refrigerator. Customers
couldn’t see any price information. could now buy a week’s groceries at the same time and
keep them fresh. Today, grocery stores continue to use
That all began to change when Clarence Saunders
new technology, such as self-scanning and automatic
opened the first Piggly Wiggly store. He introduced a
checkout, but the basic idea was created by Clarence
number of things that are still with us today. First of all,
Saunders a little over 100 years ago.
there was a clear entrance and exit so that customers
all took the same path through the store. The products
were placed on shelves where customers could choose counter (n): a surface, usually long and flat, where
what they wanted. Each product had a price tag on it customers are served or business is conducted
so that customers could clearly see how much it was. automatic (adj): something that works by itself, not
Metal baskets were provided for each customer to by people

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UNIT

6 Moments in Time
LE V EL 3 – RE A DING WORK SHEE T: Services PAGE 2 OF 2

VOCABULARY
Choose the correct option.

1 That smell is … Are you baking a chocolate cake?

a popular! b familiar! c similar!
2 Can you get some … I’m going to make some bread.
a sugar? b flour? c spices?
3 When you buy some products, they … them to see how heavy they are.
a weigh b measure c count
4 On the fish counter, they … the fish before you put it in your basket.
a fold b tie c wrap
5 The way we get our … such as milk and bread, is changing all the time.
a stores, b prices, c groceries,

COMPREHENSION
Choose the correct option.

1 When Piggly Wiggly opened in 1916, it was the first time customers had …
a seen products on shelves. b paid at a cash desk. c chosen products without help.
2 Before 1916, customers were unhappy because …
a the clerks made mistakes. b shopping took a long time. c staff didn’t help people.
3 It was easier to shop in a Piggly Wiggly because customers could …
a walk around the store. b see prices clearly. c taste the food.
4 Storekeepers liked the Piggly Wiggly idea because they could …
ao
 pen stores in different areas. b increase prices. c serve more customers.
5 The grocery store became possible when people …
ah
 ad lots of money for groceries. b could travel easily. c started eating fresh food.

THINKING
In what ways do you think grocery shopping will develop in the future?

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UNIT

6 Moments in Time
LE V EL 3 – RE A DING WORK SHEE T: Business PAGE 1 OF 2

READING
Read the text about a new business. Who would you most like to meet?

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner!

If your idea of a dinner party is an informal social
occasion where one person cooks a simple dinner for
a few friends, then you may have to think again. These
days, a number of companies offer services around
dinner parties. You can hire an award-winning private
chef to cook the meal. You can hire servers to serve the
meal and a butler to add a feeling of luxury. And now,
thanks to a new service called Historical Dinners, you
can invite any person from history to your dinner party to
chat with your guests.
Historical Dinners is the idea of a young businesswoman
from Los Angeles, Lauren Johnson. She was hosting a
dinner one evening when she and her guests started
to talk about who they would invite to their dream
party. Interesting people from history such as Abraham
Lincoln, Leonardo da Vinci, and Queen Elizabeth I of
England were suggested. After the dinner party, Johnson
continued to think about the idea, and she realized
that Los Angeles is full of actors who would love the
opportunity to play famous people from history. She
started a company to offer the service and she soon
had a number of actors available to play parts such as successful dinner parties are those that people talk about
Cleopatra, George Washington, and Thomas Edison. for a long time afterward, and having a historical figure
Each actor prepares for their part by researching the life as a guest is an interesting talking point. It also provides
of the person they are going to play. At the dinner party, great photo opportunities for social media. In addition,
they need to be ready to talk about the historical figure’s it means that there is less pressure on guests to come up
personal life, as well as the things that made that person with interesting things to talk about because the actors
famous. The actor never knows what the other guests are trained to lead the conversation. Finally, the service
at the dinner party will want to talk about, so he or she gives guests the opportunity to find out more about the
needs to be ready for anything. It’s also important to lives and the thoughts of each historical figure. Lauren
look and act like the person. This is much easier for more Johnson plans to offer the service in more cities soon,
recent historical figures, such as US presidents Ronald and she is even thinking about bringing the idea to other
Reagan or John F. Kennedy, because film and video of countries, so the chance to have dinner with someone
those people exist. For figures before the 20th century, from history may be coming your way before too long.
the actors use pictures or portraits to get the look right.
For the customer, the service is a chance to add butler (n): the primary (usually male) servant in a home,
something different to their dinner party. The most often the supervisor of other servants in larger homes

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This page may be photocopied and used within the class.
UNIT

6 Moments in Time
LE V EL 3 – RE A DING WORK SHEE T: Business PAGE 2 OF 2

VOCABULARY
Match the definitions (1–5) to the words (a–e).

1 A social is an event such as a party when you spend time with friends. a hire
2 When you a person, you pay them to do something for you. b figure
3 A historical is a famous person from the past. c recent
4 If something is , it happened a short time ago. d occasion
5 When you a conversation, you choose what to talk about. e lead

COMPREHENSION
Choose True or False.

1 Dinner parties have become more formal than some people think. True / False
2 Lauren Johnson got the idea from talking to friends who are actors. True / False
3 Guests can only ask the historical figure about the thing they are famous for. True / False
4 Research into historical figures usually includes studying images of them. True / False
5 One of the historical figures mentioned in the text is President Nixon. True / False

THINKING
Which historical figure would you like to invite to a dinner party? Explain why.

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UNIT

6 Moments in Time
LE V EL 3 – RE A DING WORK SHEE T: General PAGE 1 OF 2

READING
Read the text about Nellie Bly. How have career opportunities for women advanced?

She Did What?

In 1873, the novel Around the World in Eighty Days, by
French writer Jules Verne, was published. It told the story
of Phileas Fogg, who travels around the world by train
and by ship, arriving back in London after a journey of
80 days. In 1889, a 35-year-old journalist named Nellie
Bly decided to try to beat this record. When she arrived
back in New York 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes later,
she was famous. At a time when it wasn’t always easy for
women to have successful careers in journalism, Nellie
Bly wrote about a number of important stories.
Nellie Bly’s real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochran,
and she was born in 1864. Her family owned a mill in
Pennsylvania, but they had to move after her father
died when Nellie was just six years old. Because her
family didn’t have much money, Nellie didn’t receive
much education. In the early 1880s, a local newspaper
published an article about the role of women. Nellie
wrote a letter to the paper complaining about the article.
The editor liked the letter and he eventually gave Nellie
a job as a reporter on the paper. She started using the
name Nellie Bly. Nellie produced stories about working
women who had to live and work in very bad conditions.
She also wrote about the lives of people with mental
illnesses, who were treated very badly at the time.
In fact, she deliberately pretended to have a mental
illness so that a doctor would send her to an asylum, a
kind of hospital for people with mental illnesses. When
she wrote about her experiences, it was the first time about the trip was very successful. She became the
many people learned about the poor conditions in best-known female journalist of her time.
the asylums.
Nellie Bly showed that it was possible for women to be
When she decided to travel around the world, it was good journalists and to write about much more than
very unusual for a single young woman to make a fashion and cooking. In later life, she wrote about subjects
journey like that. There was a lot of interest in her trip. such as the vote for women. Nellie Bly died in 1922.
At that time, there were good telegraph systems in
many parts of the world, and Nellie was able to send
mental illness (n): a health disorder of the mind
short messages back to the newspaper describing her
journey. It was unusual to be able to read about what pretend (v): to speak or act in a certain way because
she was doing just a day after she sent the messages. you want someone to believe something, usually
She also sent longer descriptions by mail, but these when it isn’t true
took up to two weeks to arrive. At the end of her telegraph (n): an electrical connection through wires
journey, a large crowd of people met her. Her book or by radio waves as a method of communicating

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UNIT

6 Moments in Time
LE V EL 3 – RE A DING WORK SHEE T: General PAGE 2 OF 2

VOCABULARY
Complete the sentences with words from the box.

conditions female journalist local published

1 We need to have more politicians to show that women can do anything.

2 The stories in our newspaper are never very interesting.
3 My new book is going to be next week!
4 Today, we usually work in much better than people did in the past.
5 I’d like to be a and work for a national news organization.

COMPREHENSION
Scan the reading and choose the correct option.

1 Nellie wrote a letter to a local paper saying their view of women was correct / incorrect.
2 Nellie went to an asylum because doctors thought she could write a good story / had a mental illness.
3 Nellie’s stories about the asylum showed people how bad / educational it was in those places.
4 People could follow her trip because Nellie sent messages back / wrote stories in the newspaper.
5 In her later career, Nellie wrote about clothes and food / issues that affected women.

THINKING
What other examples of women from history who had successful careers do you know?

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This page may be photocopied and used within the class.