Connie Lau hates smoking. “It smells awful, and it’s so bad for you. It breaks my heart to see my friends smoking. I try to get them to give up smoking.” She says.
So why does Connie walk into convenience stores and try to buy cigarettes? She is testing to see if stores will sell cigarettes to a kid who is younger than 18. “You have to be 18 to purchase cigarettes, and I’m 16, so if they sell to me, they’re breaking the law,” Connie says.
Connie isn’t a vigilante (治安队员); She works with local police in her town of Castro Valley, California. Officers drive her to stores, and she goes in alone to try to buy cigarettes. If the person behind the counter sells her a pack, an officer comes in and writes the business a ticket for breaking the law.
Most stores obey the law and don’t sell her cigarettes. The law requires that customers show ID if store employees ask them to. “When they ask your age, you can’t lie,” Connie says. “Most stores don’t sell to me. In a year, we’ve visited almost 150 stores and had only 15 sales.”
Working undercover can be scary, even with police nearby. Connie said one cashier refused to sell her cigarettes and then got angry when he found out her age. He threatened to call the authorities. “To calm him down, the police went in to explain that I was undercover,” she says.
Most teens wouldn’t think of going undercover for the police. What’s Connie’s motivation (动机)? For starters, she can’t stand smoking. But she also believes it’s important for young people like her to try to make a real impact in their communities. In her view, teens can do more than get good grades in school, do chores at home, and do well in out-of-class activities.
Every time she stops the sale of cigarettes to children, she’s helping to uphold the law. “A single teenager can make a big difference,” Connie says. “For the most part, when stores get caught, they learn their lesson and don’t do it again.”
小题1:According to the law what age of person can the store be allowed to sell cigarettes to?
A．Under 18.
B．More than 18.
C．16.
D．More than 16.小题2:Connie goes to convenience stores to ________.
A．discover whether stores can sell cigarettes to kids
B．see which stores can sell cigarettes to her friends
C．look for her friends
D．arrest the smokers小题3:What would happen if an owner sells cigarettes to kids?
A．The owner would be arrested.
B．The owner would be fined.
C．The kids would be punished.
D．The kids would be removed from school.小题4:One reason that Connie works undercover is that ________.
A．she wants more smokers to quit smoking
B．she wants to get good grades in school
C．she hopes to make a difference in the area
D．she hopes to be excellent in out-of-class activities小题5:Which of the following might be the main idea of the text?
A．Smoking can be forbidden with the help of a girl.
B．A good way to stop a store from selling cigarettes to kids.
C．Connie Lau — a brave girl who goes undercover for the policeman.
D．Connie Lau goes undercover to stop stores from selling cigarettes to kids.
