During a trade（贸易）/treɪd/ lesson, Mr Lee gave Ivy a business（商业；生意）/ˈbɪznɪs/ order. A small factory（工厂）/ˈfæktəri/, founded（创办；建立）/faʊnd/ by a recent college graduate（毕业生）/ˈgræʤəˌweɪt/, had to post（邮寄；邮政）/poʊst/ a computer chip（芯片）/ʧɪp/ and a silver ring（戒指；环）/rɪŋ/ to a flat（公寓）/flæt/ overseas（海外的）/ˈoʊvərˈsiz/. The ring was a family treasure（珍宝）/ˈtrɛʒər/, while the chip was a sample（样品）/ˈsæmpəl/ for industry（工业）/ˈɪndəstri/. Together they weighed hardly（几乎不）/ˈhɑrdli/ a kilogram（千克）/ˈkɪləˌgræm/, not a ton（吨）/tən/, but both needed safe packing.

The factory boss（老板）/bɔs/ offered three routes（路线）/rut/. Standard post cost twelve dollars（美元）/ˈdɔlər/ and fifty cents（分）/sɛnt/. A truck（卡车）/trək/ and ship（轮船）/ʃɪp/ route cost the least（最少）/list/, but might take a month. Air service cost double（双倍的）/ˈdəbəl/ because a pilot（飞行员）/ˈpaɪlət/ could carry it sooner. Ivy arrived by underground（地铁）/ˈəndərˌgraʊnd/ and taxi（出租车）/ˈtæksi/ to study the map. “Shall（将；要不要）/ʃæl/ I choose speed or price?” she asked. Mr Lee replied, “Suppose（认为；假定）/səˈpoʊz/ the buyer needs the chip soon（很快）/sun/. What matters most?”

Ivy read every condition except（除……之外）/ɪkˈsɛpt/ one small note. The ship sometimes（有时）/ˈsəmˌtaɪmz/ waited for enough goods, so its date was not fixed. The air route was comfortable（舒适的）/ˈkəmfərtəbəl/ for the timetable（时间表）/ˈtaɪmˌteɪbəl/, but expensive. She asked the company to lend（借出）/lɛnd/ her a sample box. It did not belong to（属于）/bɪˈlɔŋ tɪ/ Ivy, so she would give back（归还）/gɪv bæk/ the box later. “I will pack the ring myself（我自己）/ˌmaɪˈsɛlf/ and ask for（请求；要求）/æsk fər/ a receipt（收据）/rɪˈsit/,” she said. She added a postcard（明信片）/ˈpoʊˌskɑrd/, a stamp（邮票）/stæmp/, and a bag of coffee（咖啡）/ˈkɔfi/ as a friendly gift.

A knock（敲）/nɑk/ at the door made everyone hurry（赶快）/ˈhəri/. The postman（邮递员）/ˈpoʊstmən/ had come early. Ivy did not make an excuse（借口；请原谅）/ɪkˈskjuz/ or become mad（生气的）/mæd/. “Please wait for（等待）/weɪt fər/ me,” she said. She checked the address and found nothing（没有什么）/ˈnəθɪŋ/ wrong. One parcel（包裹）/ˈpɑrsəl/ nearby（附近的）/ˈnɪrˈbaɪ/ was theirs（他们的）/ðɛrz/, not hers, so she returned it. Mr Lee said, “Well（顺利地；好）/wɛl/ done（完成的）/dən/. A good deal（交易；处理）/dil/ depends on careful details（细节）/ˈditeɪlz/.”

Ivy chose the air route so the small urgent（紧急的）/ˈərʤənt/ package（包裹）/ˈpækɪʤ/ would arrive on time（准时）/ɔn taɪm/, and the ship for future heavy goods. The first choice protected time; the second could support regular（定期的）/ˈrɛgjələr/ trade at lower cost. Her plan was OK（好的）/ˈoʊˈkeɪ/ with the boss and buyer. By comparing weight, value, and date, she had made a sensible（明智的）/ˈsɛnsəbəl/ business decision（决定）/dɪˈsɪʒən/ rather than（而不是）/ˈrəðər ðən/ choosing the quickest route without thought.