C In hopes of becoming millionaires, many Filipinos (菲律宾人) began drinking more Pepsi. They hoped to get a bottle cap with the winning number on it. In May 1992, the number was announced: 349. Thousands rushed to get their reward with their bottle caps worth a million pesos (about US $ 40,000) each. But Pepsi wouldnt pay. The company said there was a mistake. The numbers on the caps did not include a security code (保险号), so the caps were not really winners. Up to 800,000 bottle caps had the number 349. Pepsi has spent millions of dollars on the problem. The company has paid 54 million pesos to real winners. It also paid 500 pesos for each No.349 cap without the security code.
D In Cardiff I was put to work in furniture department at one of the local stores. It was large, fairly out of date, run ( 经营), like its parent company in London, by a group of relatives. Being only a member of the store for a short time, I was in a very fortunate position. The others, particularly the older members of the store, were naturally asked to produce good sales figures. I was more of an observer. If I made a sale, I was pleased, but if I didnt, I would not be blamed. I was really there to observe and learn, and as I had no interest in making a position in the furniture business, I wasnt too diligent (勤奋) about that either. One salesman in late middle age once expressed his insecurity (不安全感) by scolding me of trying to steal one of his customers (雇客). Nothing could have been further from the truth, but he demanded that I go to the stockroom (货仓) with him to settle the matter. He was very small and thin, but to my surprise he started dancing about among the carpets and closets working his arms wildly and calling on me to put them up. I couldnt put anything up ---I was too busy rolling on a four-foot six - inch spring mattress (弹簧垫子) , helpless with laughter. Finally he saw the joke too, and we went off to the members store for a conciliatory(和解)cup of tea. Several days later, I finally left the store. Thank God!