SHOPPING FOR FRUIT

                                              SHOPPING FOR FRUIT


CLARA: Excuse me.Are you Mr.Sanchez

MR.SANCHEZ: That's right.And who might you be,miss?

CLARA:I'm Clara Savitz.Mr. Plank said I should ask you to help me.you see,I'm

doing the shopping for my family this week because my mother and father are

sick.I've done most of the shopping already.and now i want to get to get the

vegetables and fruits on my list.My Problem is that I don't know how to pick ripe

ones.Will you help me?

MR.SANCHEZ:I'd be delighted.Let's see that list.Two pounds of sweet potatoes and

five pounds of regular potatoes;let's start with these,First,we'll pull a plastic

bag off this roll of bags.Notice how the plastic is perforated?The way to separate

them is to tear along this perforated line(He ripe a bag from the roll.)

CLARA: I'm glad you're helping me.I'm not tall enough to reach taht roll.How do

you know how many potatoes to put into the bag so that the bag will weight five

pounds?

MR.SANCHEZ:We'll start by putting in about eight or ten of these medium-sized

idaho potatoes.After you've done this for a while,you put them on the scale,Let's

see how much these weight.(He puts the bag with nine potatoes in it on the scale.)

CLARA: It says that we've got a little more than four pounds.


MR.SANCHEZ: Right,Now,Let's leave the bag on the scale and add a few more potatoes

one at a time.After adding each one,look at the arrow to see what the new weight

is.When it points to somewhare near the five-pound mark.we'll stop.here,you try

it.

CLARA: It's just over five pounds now.Is that okay or should I take one back out?


MR.SANCHEZ:I think that's fine.You did well,Clara.Now I have to carry out a few

crates of lettuce,so why don't you take these bags and do what we just did with

the onions,apples,and green beans on your list.you won't have any touble with them

because I just put them out and they all look good. just be sure to watch the

scale.

CLARA: (She weight ten pounds of Bermude onions,five pounds of apples,and two

pounds of green beans.) This isn't as I thoght it would be.Maybe I'll trypicking

out the tomatoes myself.since Mr. Sanchez still seems to be busy.I wonder how to

tell which ones are ripe?

MR.SANCHEZ:Well,Clara,I see you've finished about half your list,Those tomatoes

that you've chosen,however,aren't ripe enough.Notice how a lot of these are still

green?That means they need a few more days in the sun,Here,We'll put in a few

ripe, red ones for use in the next day or so,and we'll put in a few green

ones,Those you'll put on the windosill so they can ripen in the sunlight.That way

you'll have fresh tomatoes later in the week.


CLARA: There's so much to learn! Here's another item I don't know much about

Bananas.


MR.SANCHEZ:Bananas are easy.Let's do it together.These aren't ripe enough to eat

yet.You can tell becourse they're still green and hard,These are overripe,they're

soft and black or brown-spotted.These yellow ones are firm and just right for

eating.By the way,If you want to cook with bananas_bake banana bread,for

example_then the black ones are fine,even better than the ripe ones.


CLARA: I feel as though I've learned a lot today,Now all I need is a half dozen

oranges,and I'll be ready to take my cart to the checkout counter.


MR.SANCHEZ:I'm going off duty in about fifteen minutes,Clara you should be through

the line by then.why don't you wait for me by the door,and i'll drive you

home.Your packages would be too heavy to lift by yourself.


CLARA: Thanks,Mr. Sanchez. I'll do that.This has been quite an experience.