On（在……上；在某日）/ɒn/ Sunday（星期日）/ˈsʌndeɪ/ morning, Maya and her father went shopping（去购物）/went ˈʃɒpɪŋ/ at（在）/æt/ the（这个；这些）/ðə/ neighbourhood（附近地区）/ˈneɪbəhʊd/ market. They brought four strong cloth（布；布制的）/klɒθ/ bags（袋子）/bæɡz/ from（来自；从）/frɒm/ home and took a（一个）/ə/ basket（篮子）/ˈbɑːskɪt/ at the entrance（入口）/ˈentrəns/. Their（他们的）/ðeə/ list included rice（大米）/raɪs/, a cabbage（卷心菜）/ˈkæbɪdʒ/, fruit, milk, bread, a packet（一包；小包）/ˈpækɪt/ of（……的）/əv/ biscuits（饼干）/ˈbɪskɪts/, and cooking oil（油）/ɔɪl/. Maya wanted（想要）/ˈwɒntɪd/ to（向；去；用于不定式）/tuː/ carry everything without asking for（索要）/ˈɑːskɪŋ fɔː/ a plastic（塑料的）/ˈplæstɪk/ bag.

At the vegetable shop, Maya put one kilo（公斤）/ˈkiːləʊ/ of potatoes（土豆）/pəˈteɪtəʊz/ and some onions（洋葱）/ˈʌnjənz/ into the first cloth bag. The seller（店主）/ˈselə/ weighed（称重）/weɪd/ them（他们；它们）/ðem/, wrote（写下）/rəʊt/ the weight（重量）/weɪt/ on the bill（账单）/bɪl/, and placed lighter（较轻的）/ˈlaɪtə/ food on top（上面；顶部）/tɒp/. At the food shop across from（在……对面）/əˈkrɒs frɒm/ it, her father used the second bag for（为了；供）/fɔː/ rice and bottles. They kept（使保持）/kept/ the bread and eggs（鸡蛋）/eɡz/ separate（分开的）/ˈseprət/ so（所以）/səʊ/ the heavy food would not break them.

When they reached the final counter（柜台）/ˈkaʊntə/, a public notice said that（……这一事实；那个）/ðæt/ free（免费的）/friː/ plastic bags were no longer（不再）/nəʊ ˈlɒŋɡə/ provided（提供）/prəˈvaɪdɪd/. Customers（顾客）/ˈkʌstəmə/ had（有；必须）/hæd/ to bring a bag or（或者）/ɔː/ pay for（为……付款）/peɪ fɔː/ one made of paper（纸；纸制的）/ˈpeɪpə/. It also said that cloth bags can be（被；成为）/biː/ used many times, while clean paper bags can be recycled（回收利用）/ˌriːˈsaɪkld/ to reduce（减少）/rɪˈdjuːs/ waste（浪费；废物）/weɪst/ and protect（保护）/prəˈtekt/ the environment（环境）/ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt/. The rule was different from（与……不同）/wəz ˈdɪfrənt frɒm/ the old one. However, Maya and her father were ready. They packed their milk and cheese（奶酪）/tʃiːz/ into the third bag.

Beside them, an elderly（年长的）/ˈeldəli/ customer looked worried. She had bought（购买）/bɔːt/ several things（东西）/θɪŋz/ but had not brought a bag. Maya checked their shopping. All their food fitted（装得下）/ˈfɪtɪd/ into three bags, so the fourth one was still empty（空的）/ˈempti/. “You can use our extra（多出的）/ˈekstrə/ bag.” The woman accepted（接受）/əkˈseptɪd/ it and put her shopping inside（在里面）/ˌɪnˈsaɪd/.

The seller thanked Maya for helping someone（某人）/ˈsʌmwʌn/ in need（需要帮助）/ɪn niːd/. The two customers left the counter at the same time（同时）/æt ðə seɪm taɪm/, each carrying a cloth bag. Maya's small choice did not change the whole market, but it made a difference（产生影响）/meɪd ə ˈdɪfrəns/ for one person and avoided（避免）/əˈvɔɪdɪd/ one more plastic bag.