Ellen  Parker    was  worried   about  her   health  .  She  could   not  walk  very  quickly  and   it  was  difficult  for   her  to   climb   stairs  .  She   was  soon  out  of  breath  ( 气喘吁吁).

   ."I suppose I had better go to the doctor." she thought.

 She went to the doctor and told him her problem. "I'm not at all surprised." he said, "I know what your problem is."

He examined her and then gave her some advice. "If you don't do what I say, Mrs. Parker," he said, "You  will have a heart attack. It could kill you."

     Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor's. She knew that she had to take his advice but that it would  not be easy and it would take time.

     The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher shop.

     "I'd like ten pounds of steak, please." she said.

     "Certainly, madam." the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He  brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale.

     "That's just ten pounds." he said.

     "That's big enough." Mrs. Parker said.

     The butcher worked out the price. "At $4.99 a pound that will be $49.90, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?"

     "Oh, I don't want to buy the meat." Mrs. Parker said.

     "If you don't want to buy it," the butcher replied angrily, "Why did you ask me to get it for you?"

     "My doctor told me that I am too heavy and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of  meat looked like."