중학교 영어 3 (NE능률 김성곤) 연계 글

Every July, each student group at our school runs a stand on market day. This year, Yeonji, Corbin, and I made enough lemonade for a hundred cups. We put up a sign that said "1,000 won a cup" and opened at ten.

The morning was cloudy and cool, and most people walked past us. By eleven, we had sold only fourteen cups. Counting the coins in our box, Corbin let out a long sigh. Then our social studies teacher, Ms. Shim, stopped by and asked, "What will happen if you lower your price?" Feeling a little worried, we crossed out the old price and wrote "500 won." In the next hour, we sold forty cups. "When the price of something drops, people usually want more of it," Ms. Shim said.

Around noon, the clouds cleared, and the sun grew hot. The hotter the afternoon got, the longer our line became. Wiping sweat from her forehead, Yeonji poured lemonade as fast as she could. The busier our table was, the faster Corbin dropped ice into the cups. Between twelve and one, we sold thirty-six more cups at the same price. "Your price didn't change, but the heat made more people want lemonade," Ms. Shim explained.

By one o'clock, only ten cups were left, but about twenty people were waiting. "When there is less of something than people want, its price tends to rise," she told us. Thinking it over for a moment, we changed our sign back to 1,000 won. Even so, the last ten cups were gone within five minutes.

Riding the bus home, I went over the whole day in my head. The longer I thought about it, the better I understood Ms. Shim's words. The next Monday, she began a class on demand and supply. Every example sounded familiar, because we had already seen each one at our stand.