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M：Where did you buy your new computer?

W：I ordered it on line．I saved 20％doing it that way．

M：Weren’t you scared of being cheated?

W：No．I order things on line all the time and I've never had a problem．I use a special pay card and only buy from sellers with good reputation．The pay card makes it much safer for the consumer because they will return your money if you don’t receive the product．

M：Why is it so much cheaper to buy on line?

W：Selling on line is much cheaper for the seller．They don’t need to pay staff'or rent a huge store．In a competitive market，these savings are passed on to the consumer．

M：How does the pay card company make money?

W：They just take a couple percent of each buy．Even with that fee，it's still often cheaper to buy on line．It really depends on where you shop and what you are buying though．

M：Why do so many people still buy things in stores then?

W：A lot of people still feel it’s safer to buy things that way．Some people don’t really mind paying more．

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    Take a quick glance around any home or work place．How many things are made of plastic? At first，plastic seems wonderful．We could put food into plastic containers．If you go to a party，people often use plastic plates and cups．It takes a lot 1ess time to throw everything into a plastic garbage bag instead of washing and trying the dishes the way people used to．Plastic made a lot of things cheaper or so it appeared at first，but is it plastic laundry basket really a bargain? If it falls apart within six month and you have to buy a new one．I don't  think so．Many things made of plastic simply don’t last as long as items made of other materials．They are much more 1ikely to end up in a land field side after a short time．Our land and oceans are filling up with plastic garbage and it’s going to be there for a long，long time．It’s too much of a good thing．The production of plastic bottles，and bags and packaging

is way out of control．A few communities have banned plastic shopping bags and some stores are encouraging people to bring their own reusable bags by charging tor shopplng bags．