Small Shops in a Big City
大城市里的小店
On my street there is a small shop that sells nothing but buttons and thread. It has been there for thirty years, and the owner knows most of his customers by name.
我住的那条街上有一家小店，只卖纽扣和线。它已经在那儿三十年了，店主能叫出大部分顾客的名字。
Large chains can sell the same goods for less because they buy in huge amounts. Yet the small shop survives, because people come to it for advice as much as for products.
大型连锁店能用更低的价钱卖同样的东西，因为它们进货量极大。但这家小店活了下来，因为人们来这儿，一半是为了买东西，一半是为了问句话。
When I needed to repair my grandmother's coat, the owner found a matching button in two minutes. An online search would have taken me a whole evening and probably ended in the wrong size.
我要修外婆的外套时，店主两分钟就找出了一颗配得上的纽扣。要是上网找，我得花一整晚，而且很可能最后买回来的尺寸还是错的。
Cheap prices are easy to measure; helpful conversation is not. That may be why small shops keep a place in cities that seem to run on speed alone.
便宜的价格容易衡量，有用的交谈却不行。这也许就是为什么，在只看速度的城市里，小店仍然有它的位置。