365个英语简短小故事-335. The Vacuum Cleaner Filter(2)

But the HEPA filter for Oliver’s Vibe got dirty very quickly. And, it was not cleanable—it was simply replaceable. When it turned filthy¹ brown, Oliver went back to Target to buy a new filter.

Oddly, Target sold the F15 belt for the Vibe, but not the filter. He informed the store manager. She said she would e-mail this discrepancy² to Target headquarters. She told him to try Sears or Wal-Mart. If they didn’t have it, he could try the Dirt Devil web site. He drove to Wal-Mart and to Sears, but neither carried the filter. The Sears salesman told him to try the vacuum cleaner repair shop on East Colorado.

Oliver drove to the address, but the shop was closed. A note on the door said, “Because of car problems, the store is not open today. We will be open on Monday, if we can get the car fixed³.” If they had car problems, how did they leave the note on the door, Oliver wondered.

When he got home, he went online to Dirt Devil. The F15 filter was only $9.99. But shipping⁴ (5-7 days) was an extra $4.95. Express shipping (1-2 days) was $10.70.

Including driving time, Oliver figured that he had spent two irritating hours that day looking for one stupid filter. He wondered how much of his life he had wasted just searching for things.

 

1 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

2 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。