Daily Life - Shopping Online (C0207)

A:	What are you doing?

B:	I'm just looking for a nice pillow on Ebay.

A:	You are shopping for a pillow online? That's absurd!

B:	Why? I don't have to leave the house or browse a dozen stores to find what I'm looking for. This way, I just search for it online quick and easy.

A:	I see, but how do you pay for it? How do you know you aren't going to be ripped off by the seller?

B:	Well, the website handles a point system where if the seller does something wrong, people comment negatively and then you know that he or she may not be trustworthy.

A:	Wow, that sounds pretty safe. So how do you pay? Do you need a credit card?

B:	You can use a credit card or your debit card. They also let you use the PayPal system which is really safe and fast. I have never had any problems with someone hacking my information or anything.

A:	Do you think I can find a sweater for my dog online?

B:	You can find anything! Are you sure you want to start shopping online though? Once you step into this world, there is no turning back!

A:	Let's do it!

Key Vocabulary

absurd		ridiculous
rip off		be cheated violently;be stolen from
trustworthy		reliable, or dependable;worthy of being trusted
hack		gain unauthorized access to another computer syste
browse		to inspect something leisurely and casually
point system		a system of evaluation based on awarding points
credit card		a plastic card enables the holder to pay on credit
no turning back		not to halt the advance of; no to regret

electronic commerce		the buying and selling of products or services over the internet
search engine		A program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found.
COD		Charge on Delivery, a payment method that allows you to pay for goods once they have been delivered.
wire transfer		An electronic transfer of funds from one account to another
webstore		A webstore is a website that sells products or services and typically has an online shopping cart associated with it