2. Read the text. Then answer the questions.

1. What is 'showrooming? Have you or someone you know ever showroomed?

2. Do you prefer to buy things in shops or online? Why?

3. Should you expect to pay more for goods in a shop than on a website? Why? /Why not?

4. What would you do if you had to pay to look around a shop?

That'll be $5, please.

A health food shop in Adelaide, Australia, has decided to charge customers S5 for "just looking". The problem is that customers keep coming into the shop and leaving without buying anything. “They pretend to be interested in a product and ask for advice,” says Kate Reeves, the shop owner, "but they usually don't buy anything." 

This new phenomenon is called "showrooming". People visit a shop, examine a product, and then buy it online, where it is cheaper. Kate says she spends hours every day talking about products with customers "I can't stand working and not getting paid," she says. 'No one can make me work for free!' 

Everyone avoids paying more than they have to, but customers fail to realise that Kate's prices are mostly the same as in larger stores and on websites. They prefer to shop elsewhere as they expect to find the product at a lower price. "If customers choose to buy something, I return the $5 fee," says Kate. 

Many shops face the same problem and some may end up introducing a similar charge. The danger is that it asks putting customers off. But Kate in Adelaide says it has made no difference to her business.

4. Read the Dictionary Skills Strategy and study the dictionary entries below. Which verb a) takes an infinitive, b) takes an -ing form, and c) takes a bare form?

6. Complete the sentences. Use the infinitive, bare form or -ing form of the verbs in brackets.

1. Jason promised _____ (phone) me.

2. Joe enjoys _____ (shop) in town but refuses _____ (shop) online.

3. Mysister lets me _____ (use) her laptop.

4. Mum offered _____ (give) me a lift to the shops.

5. You can expect _____ (pay) less online than in a shop.

6. Do you fancy _____ (go) to the cinema this evening?

7. Parents do not let children _____ (stay) up late.

8. My mum usually makes me _____ (tidy) up my room.