6—A TRIP TO THE EGYPTIAN MARKET Standard L.3.
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Name__________________________________Date__________
A Trip to the Egyptian Market
I ran quickly to my room to get my friend and roommate. Our group leaders had
something important to tell our group and wanted everyone to gather in the hotel lobby.
When we arrived, my friend and I found two empty seats and quickly sat down. Anxious
to hear the news, we listened closely as our teacher explained our schedule for the next
day.
“Tomorrow, after class, we will all be going to the Egyptian market. We will sit you all in
taxis in groups of four. My husband will be with the first group and will meet you all
there. I will be with the last group to make sure that no one gets left behind.”
My friends and I were so excited as we all raised our hands to ask questions. The main
question on everyone’s mind was “what was the market like, and what should we
expect?” It was really late so our teacher only had time to give us a brief description of
what to expect and told us to make sure we had plenty of spending money. That night,
we hardly slept at all and got up early to start our day. We went to class eager for it to
be over quickly, so we could explore the many shops in the market in hopes of finding
many treasures.
The market is an open-air market that dates back to 1382. It attracts many tourists and
Egyptians alike because of the many wonderful things such as scarves and jewelry and
other items people can buy. Many of the shops also sell beautiful lights and ceramic
pottery.
We were excited mostly because we would get to test our haggling skills. Haggling is
when a customer and shop owner argue, or bargain, over the price of an item. Usually
the shop owner charges much more money than an item is worth. This is when the
customer comes in and says, “I will not buy it at that price” and offers a more
reasonable price, sometimes even lower than it is worth. After going back and forth
several times, the customer and shop owner finally agree on a price. The customer pays
and leaves happily with his souvenir.*
*souvenir: small item purchased as a reminder of a place
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6—A TRIP TO THE EGYPTIAN MARKET Standard L.3.4
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When we arrived at the market, we were immediately amazed by the sounds and smells
of the market. Before leaving us to do whatever we wanted, our teachers explained that
we had as much time to look around as we desired and that all we had to do was take a
taxi back to our hotel when we were ready. We all divided into groups, and my friends
and I left to explore the market with our cameras and money in hand.
The sights were wonderful. I started taking pictures of everything I saw and made sure
to watch for things I thought my family would like to have. Every shop was loaded with
T-shirts, perfume bottles, scarves, and even instruments. There were also spice shops
that had sacks of spices out in the open where people could examine and buy them. We
traveled down the main street at first, which was lined on either side with shops and
then decided to walk through the many side shops that broke off from the main street.
Here we discovered many unusual shops, where we bought handmade quilts, rugs, and
vases.
The market was also a very loud place. The shop owners are always yelling and trying to
get people to come in and buy souvenirs from their shop. The place is also very crowded
with people who are talking and bargaining. I was able to work my way through the
crowd with my friends where I discovered a shop that had the most beautiful scarves.
After several minutes of fierce haggling, I came out of the shop with six scarves for my
sisters and me. I also bought several perfume bottles and magnets for other family
members. Once we finished walking through the market, my friends and I got a taxi and
rode into the night, carrying our treasures back to our hotel.
1 What is the meaning of the word anxious in paragraph 1?
A alarmed
B eager
C faithful
D worried
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2 What is the meaning of the word brief in paragraph 3?
A busy
B fancy
C short
D plain
3 What is the meaning of the word attracts in paragraph 4?
A brings
B saves
C opens
D closes
4 What is the meaning of the word desired in paragraph 6?
A hoped
B needed
C planned
D wanted
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5 What is the meaning of examine in paragraph 7?
A put off
B look at
C plan for
D think about
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