美國的擦鞋生意正在消失

黃連英 鐘翠頻

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，有刪改）

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.

【參考答案】

1. C。解析：細節理解題。文章第一段最后一個句子“the customers paid eight dollars for the work”提到了擦一雙鞋的價格，排除A選項；第一段第三句“The shoeshiners cleaned the footwear and added an oily substance to protect the shoes’ leather material.”提到了擦鞋的過程，排除B選項；第一段第二句中的“customers sat down at the shoeshine business and pulled out newspapers and phones to read”體現了顧客在擦鞋的過程中得到了放松，排除D選項。只有C選項沒提到，故選C。

2. B。解析：詞義猜測題。根據文章第二段的句子“But today， the tradition of getting a quick shine is weakening. Shoeshine stands are disappearing...”，我們可知，擦鞋的傳統正在減弱，擦鞋攤也正在消失。根據文章第三段最后一句“All this means fewer customers for shoeshining businesse.”，我們可知，由于疫情的影響，更多的人在家工作，穿著更隨意，需要擦鞋的顧客減少了。由此可推測新型冠狀病毒加劇了業務的下滑。故選B。

3. D。解析：推理判斷題。根據文章的邏輯結構，我們可知，第一段是引入話題，第二、三段說明文章主題——擦鞋業務嚴重下滑。文章后面幾段通過舉不同的例子來說明擦鞋業務的下滑。因此，本文主要是通過舉例來組織文章的。故選D。

4. A。解析：推理判斷題。根據文章最后一段最后一句中的“most shoe repair businesses do not have the service”，我們可知，提供擦鞋服務仍然是David Mesquita’s Leather Spa吸引人們的一個重要因素，因為大多數修鞋公司都沒有這項服務。由此可推斷出擦鞋服務只存在于部分修鞋公司。故選A。