Nonfiction · Level 3 · 188 words

One Line, Many Windows

Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.

At some banks and airports, customers no longer pick a line. A single roped path snakes toward all the counters, and whoever stands at its head goes to the next window that opens. The snake looks long. It is usually the faster and fairer design.

Consider the alternative: one line per counter. You must guess which line will move, and your wait depends on that guess. Service times are uneven (one customer needs thirty seconds, another ten minutes), and separate lines let one slow case trap everyone behind it while the next line drains.

The single line pools that unevenness. Nobody commits to one counter, so a slow customer delays the whole snake by a little instead of delaying a few people by a lot. And the rule people care most about (first come, first served) actually holds, because no one who arrived later can beat you by picking a luckier lane.

So why do supermarkets keep separate lines? Because a snake of forty people looks alarming at the door, even when it moves quickly. Stores sometimes choose the design that feels shorter over the one that is.

Comprehension questions

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4 questions
1. The passage mainly argues

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C. that a single line feeding many counters is usually faster and fairer than separate lines
The first paragraph states the claim (the snake 'is usually the faster and fairer design') and the middle paragraphs prove it: the single line pools uneven service times and preserves first come, first served.

2. Why does a slow customer do less damage in a single snaking line?

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A. Because no one is committed to standing behind that customer, so the delay spreads thinly across everyone
The text says nobody 'commits to one counter', so the next free window takes the next person. Combine that with pooling: one slow case delays 'the whole snake by a little' rather than trapping a few people completely.

3. In this passage, the word 'drains' means the next line

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B. empties as its customers are served
'Drains' pictures the neighboring line emptying like water flowing out; its customers keep moving while you stay trapped behind one slow case.

4. According to the passage, why do supermarkets keep separate lines?

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D. A long single snake looks alarming at the door, even when it moves quickly
The last paragraph states it directly: 'a snake of forty people looks alarming at the door, even when it moves quickly', so stores pick the design that feels shorter.

Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.