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1、11-A.TheGreatAmericanGarageSaleNotlongago,CharlesEricksonandhisfamilydecidedtodosomespringhousecleaning.Sortingthroughtheirpossessions,theycameupwithsome1,500old,unwanteditems-allsortsofthingstheywantedtogetridof.TheEricksonsdecidedtodowhatalotofotherAmericansaredoingthesedays--havea“garagesale.
2、”Theypostedhomemadesignsthroughouttheneighborhood,rananadvertisementinthelocalnewspaper,thensetouttheunwantedobjectsonthefrontyardoftheirhomeinBloomfieldHills,Michigan,andwaitedtoseeifanyonewouldcome.TheEricksonsneedn’thaveworried.Eagerbuyersboughtallbut50oftheitemsinoneweekend,leavingthefamily$
3、442richer.Garagesale,yardsale,basementsale-whateverthey'recalledandwhereverthey'reheld,Americansarehavingtheminever-increasingnumbers.Thevarietyofthingsputupforsaleisreallywonderful-dishes,books,usedclothing,tools,tires,emptybottles,bicycles,furniture.AmaninAtlanta,Georgia,evensoldafull-sizerepl
4、icaofa1931Ford."Youwouldn'tbelievethestuffpeoplewillbuy,”saysMrs.JerryMcNeelyofHouston,Texas,whohasheldtwogaragesaleswithfriends."Ontheotherhand,youwouldn’tbelievesomeofthethingspeoplewillputouttosell.”WhywouldAmericanswanttoshopbysearchingamongsomeoneelse’scastoffs?Risinglivingcostsareconsidere
5、dbyalmosteveryoneasareasonbothforholdingsalesandforattendingthem.Thesellermakesalittleextramoneyandthebuyersavesquitealot,sincegarage-saleitemsusuallyarepricedataverysmallpartoftheiroriginalcost.Butbeyondthat,they’refun.Garagesaleshavebecomesuburbansocialevents,drawingpeopleofallages.Neighborsen
6、joymeetingnewpeople,andsomefamiliesevenservedrinksandcakes.Onepsychologistsuggeststhatpeoplearefedupwiththecomputerizationoftheirlives-theymaybesearchingfortheirroots.Manyoftheyoungerbuyerssaytheyareturnedoffbythepoorqualityofmoderngoodsandarelookingforremnantsofastrongerandfirmerera,whenthingsw
7、erebuilttolast.Somepeoplehavemadegarage-saleshoppingintoahobby;theyspendtheirweekendsgoingfromsaletosale,hopingtorunacrossarealtreasure.Saysonelong-timeweekendbargainhunter,"Inthebackofyourmindyouhavethehopeoffindingsomefabu
