Two Puzzles

     On Wednesday afternoon, Summer and I went to shop in Christmas Tree Shops. Both on the way to and back from the shops, something surprising occurred.

We took a bus with the letter “O” on the front of it. We had intended to buy two all-day tickets but failed to get them. Guess why? The reason is that we had a five- and a one-dollar bills, which is the fair for two all-day tickets, but the ticket-issuing machine admits only one-dollar bills or coins. In the end, we had to change our mind and bought two one-way tickets which cost us three dollars.

I was really puzzled and surprised at this. As the world’s most powerful country, America has the most advanced technology. Why don’t American people improve the ticket-issuing machines on buses so that passengers can use it more conveniently?  

Both Summer and I bought some clothes, and ridiculously, none of them was made in America, most of them were made in China, and one in Vietnam.

After finishing shopping, we took another bus with the letter “O” on the front of it. Getting on the bus, I saw a vacant double seat which was turned upside down. Finding that I was intending to set and sit on it, the black man sitting in front of the vacant double seat told me that it was not sittable. But immdiately a white woman who sat on the left side of it argued that I could sit on it. Both the black man and the white woman were sitting on a double seat, the difference is that next to the black man sat another person, while next to the white woman there was room for another person.

        Not knowing who was telling the truth, I chose to stand beside the vcant double seat. However, Summer insisited that we sit down, so I went further inside the bus and sat down next to another black man after asking for permission, and Summer next to the white woman. I had thought that the white woman told us that we could sit on the vacant double seat simply because she was unwilling to share a seat with one of us, but I was soon proved to be wrong, for she agreed and took away her bag immediately when Summer asked her for permission. So it puzzled me why the black man and the white woman gave us totally opposite information about the vacant double seat.