E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

Free Time, Fun Time
VISITING THRIFT STORES
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
Shopping can be a fun and relaxing way to spend your free time. This brief 
excerpt is from the book 
Style on a Shoestring
, by Andy Paige. Doing 
something “on a shoestring” means you do it with very little money. This 
excerpt is about thrift store shopping. Thrift stores sell used clothing
.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____ 1.
sap 
a. a warning to be remembered when you 
are doing something
____ 2.
thrifty 
b. to weaken
____ 3.
garment 
c. wise and careful use of money so it’s not 
wasted
____ 4.
caveat 
d. being a perfect example
____ 5.
epitomizes 
e. a successful woman who is attractive 
and fashionable
____ 6.
diva 
f. an organization that helps people who 
are poor
____ 7.
devoted 
g. piece of clothing
____ 8.
charity 
h. having a strong love or loyalty
C.
Reading strategy
Quickly read the excerpt. Then answer the question.
When shopping at a thrift store, what will you have to spend more of, money
or time?

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III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Mark the sentences T (True) or F (False).
_____ 1.
It takes a lot of time to shop at thrift stores.
_____ 2.
It takes a lot of money to shop at thrift stores.
_____ 3.
Thrift stores sell clothing that has been bought from top designers.
_____ 4.
Thrift stores sell clothing that has been donated.
_____ 5.
Thrift store items are always clean.
_____ 6.
Thrift store items need to be cleaned.
_____ 7.
You may not return items bought at thrift stores.
_____ 8.
You can always try on clothes in itting rooms at thrift stores.
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Understanding from context
Read the sentences. Before you look up words in the dictionary, use the context 
of each sentence to help you match the boldface words and idioms with the 
definitions that follow.
_____ 1.
Thrift stores can be a creative 
field of dreams
for the devoted shopper 
hero.
_____ 2.
If you are lucky, things are organized by color and garment type, but a 
boutique
it ain’t.
_____ 3.
Every thrifty diva I know has a fabulous thrift store 
find 
in her closet.
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
Thrift stores can be a creative ield of dreams for the devoted shopper hero. 
A thrift store will sap your time, but it’ll never sap your dinero. Thrift stores are 
usually connected to a charity and take in donated items in any ol’ condition. If 
you are lucky, things are organized by color and garment type, but a boutique it 
ain’t.
As you know, you have to spend a little more time if you plan on spending 
less money, and a thrift store epitomizes this principle. Every thrifty diva I know 
has a fabulous thrift store ind in her closet with a needle-in-a-haystack tale to 
tell, but you’ve got to be up for the hunt. Thrift store items will need to be 
cleaned, they can’t be returned, and many stores do not offer itting rooms. 
One easy way around this little caveat is to shop in a thin tee and skirt, so you 
can slip on tops and easily try on bottoms.
Source:
 Style on a Shoestring
, by Andy Paige, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009

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