In a used furniture business, unlike new, you cannot order stock from a catalogue. People call in, and you have to go out and make an offer. “You can’t 41 what you don’t have.” my father would say.
When I was aged thirteen, my father 42 his store manager, a one-armed guy who could do more with his one arm than many will do with two. With his 43 gone, my father came to me. “Will you come in while I go out to 44 the day’s calls 45 I find the right person?” he asked.
The store has tens of thousands of 46 . “People like to bargain,” he told me, “So I don’t 47 prices. You just have to know a 48 .”
He took me around. “A quarter-horse motor you can sell for four dollars. For a refrigerator, depending on the 49 , you can sell for thirty-five dollars to sixty dollars. However, if it has a freezer all the way across, sell it for eighty dollars, 50 excellent condition, maybe one hundred dollars. Dishes come in with a houseful of furniture, and I don’t even figure them in when I give a price. You can sell them for a nickel to a quarter. Something really nice.”
Every day after 51 , I would pedal down to the store. Soon after, I was writing up a sales slip（纸条）for an attractive plate when my father walked in. I had asked a dollar and the guy did not hesitate. I was very 52 . My father glanced down at what I was doing, 53 the customer and said, “You sure got a 54 today. My employee gave you the price and that’s the price.”
Afterward, I asked my father, “What was that all 55 ?”
It turned out that it was a(n) 56 plate, worth a few hundred dollars. I was shocked. Here I was 57 to help my father in the business and instead I was losing money for him.
He said, “I could’ve stopped the sales if I’d wanted to. You were just writing up the slip and hadn’t yet taken the money. 58 , by civil law, you’re 59 age. But, a man stands by his word and the word of his agent.”
60 my father a small amount of money, but I learned a lifelong lesson in integrity (正直).
41. A. buy B. sell C. order D. store
42. A. missed B. fired C. dismissed D. lost
43. A. manager B. boss C. servant D. salesman
44. A. ask B. return C. answer D. give
45. A. if B. when C. until D. unless
46. A. items B. goods C. facilities D. instruments
47. A. offer B. decide C. mark D. create
48. A. name B. range C. variety D. catalogue
49. A. price B. situation C. condition D. quantity
50. A. on B. for C. by D. in
51. A. school B. work C. study D. play
52. A. upset B. worried C. embarrassed D. pleased
53. A. turned on B. turned to C. turned up D. turned down
54. A. plate B. reward C. bargain D. fortune
55. A. about B. for C. around D. to
56. A. ordinary B. fragile C. antique D. delicate
57. A. willing B. going C. managing D. trying
58. A. However B. Therefore C. Besides D. Consequently
59. A. under B. above C. at D. of
60. A. Spent B. Cost C. Took D. Wasted