英语博客：Expanding Walmart.

　　For a while now, there has been a lot of construction going on at our local Walmart. I am a frequent shopper there, as it is only a couple of blocks from my house. Walmart is expanding. After a few years of doing tremendous business here, the owners have decided¹ to turn it into a superstore. That means that it will soon sell fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat. It will become the 'one stop shop' for a lot of people, including myself. Instead of shopping at Walmart, and then needing to go to a regular supermarket for food items, everything will be in one place. That's a relief! The local shops and supermarkets won't be very happy about it, but that's competition I suppose. It will force a lot of merchants to lower prices and create more special offers. Walmart is quite a ferocious² animal. There are more than 8,500 stores in 15 countries, and it's annual revenue is similar to that of a small country. Personally, I'm looking forward to the expansion. Because so many people shop at Walmart, their produce is quite fresh; they don't have goods hanging around on shelves for weeks. We call that a fast 'turn-over'. So, by Christmas, I think, it will be ready. For now, the machines of different kinds are digging, and banging, and lifting. One of the employees I spoke³ to told me that she had to hear a jack⁴ hammer for 8 hours one day. The workmen had to do a job close to her check-out till. By the time she went home, she said, her nerves were shattered. When you walk in the building, all of the aisles⁵ have changed position. The pet food is where the stationary⁶ used to be, and the stationary is where the diapers were. It's a little confusing. The parking arrangements have changed because work is taking place on a large area in the front of the building. These things take time; it's good to see the progress each time I go there. I expect that in true American style, there will be a grand opening with all sorts of freebies and special deals. But until then, there will be cranes, dump trucks, and jack hammers creating all sorts of noise and commotion⁷.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary and expressions: one stop shop, a relief, ferocious, to hang around.
1. If I have time, I love to go to specialty⁸ shops: a bakery, a delicatessen, a wine shop. But most of the time I go to 'one stop shops' for convenience sake.
2. My headache has finally stopped. What a relief!
3. The new lion in the zoo was quite ferocious.
4. I wish those kids wouldn't hang around in the mall. It's as if they have nothing to do.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

6 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

7 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

8 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。