Shopping habits in the United States have changed in the last quarter of the 20th century. Early in the 1900s, most American towns and cities had a Main Street, which was always in the heart of the town. This street was lined both sides with many varied 【M1】______ businesses where shoppers can find all sorts of merchandises: 【M2】______ clothing, furniture, hardware, groceries. In addition, some shops offer services like drugstores, restaurants, shoes-repair stores, barber or 【M3】______ hairdressing shops. But in 1950s, a change began to take place. Too many 【M4】______ automobile had crowded into Main Street. Too few parking places were available for shoppers. Because the streets were crowded, 【M5】______ merchants began to look with interest in the open spaces outside the 【M6】______ city limits. Open space is what their car-driven customers needed and 【M7】______ open space is what they got when the first shopping centers were built. Shopping centers started as to a collection of small new stores 【M8】______ built away from congested city centers. Attracted by hundreds of free parking spaces, customers were drawn away from downtown areas to the outlaying malls. And the growing popularity of shopping centers led to turn to the building of bigger and better-stocked stores. By the 【M9】______ late 1970s, shopping malls had almost developed into small cities themselves. In addition to provide the convenience of one-shop 【M10】______ shopping, malls were transformed into landscaped parks, with benches, fountains, and outdoor entertainment.
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