Topic 32
Bargain Shopping
讨价还价
David:Bargaining at shops in China is very interesting. 在中国,在商店里买东西的时候能讨价还价,挺有意思。
You:并不是所有的商店都能。
David:And not all people like to bargain.也并不是所有的人都爱讨价还价。
You:对,有的人觉得如果价位合理,质量也不错,就用不着讨价还价。但如果价格远远超出自己对商品的估价,人们一般就会讨价还价。
David:I noticed bargaining is popular with some street vendors like those on the Silk Street. I learned to bargain there. In fact, some foreigners feel uncomfortable to bargain, but I overcame this. Sometimes after I have bargained down the price on something, the shop owner would praise me for my bargaining abilities. I hear you are supposed to haggle the price down to half of the original price. 我发现,人们更习惯于和街头小店讨价还价。像秀水街,我就是在那儿学会的。很多外国人买东西时不习惯讨价还价,但我已经习惯了。有时候我砍完价后,店主们还会对我大赞一番。我听说,所有的东西的价格都能砍到一半。
You:我听说是三分之一。They told me one third of the price.
David:One third of the price?! What? 三分之一?不会吧?!
You:没人告诉过你,是吧?不管怎么样,你觉得作为外国人讲价难吗?
David:Yes. Many westerners think it is impolite to bargain. Some believe the initial price is fair and feel like bargaining would cheat the shop owner. 难。很多外国人认为讨价还价很不礼貌。一些人还认为原价就是合理的价格,讲价就等于欺骗店主。
You:或许有的外国人总是将中国商品的价格折合成美元来看,觉得其实也不贵嘛,所以就不讲价。
David:This is more the case for foreign tourists but students and foreigners who live here are already used to the standard prices and the cost of living so they know better.到中国来的游客也许会那样做。但在这里生活和学习的外国人对这儿的物价及生活费用一清二楚。
分析
对,有的人觉得如果价位合理,质量也不错,就用不着讨价还价。但如果价格远远超出自己对商品的估价,人们一般就会讨价还价。
常见错误及点评(点击查看)
常见错误
:Yes, for some people, if the price and everything about the thing you want to buy is good for you, you may not think it’s necessary for you to bargain, and just buy it sometimes. But sometimes if the price is too high maybe people want to bargain.
want:“want”是另一个中国学生口语中的常用词。不宜在几句话中多次重复使用want。否则,便有词汇贫乏,懒于思考之嫌。可替换的表达法有:“interested in”、“would like”、“feel like”。
is good for:“good for you”用在这里不合适,应用“satisfied with”或“is to one’s liking”。“good for you”多用来指“对……有益”。父母对孩子说喝牛奶有益身体健康,就可以说“Drinking milk is good for you.”。
参考答案:Yes, for some people if the price is right and they are satisfied with the quality, they may not feel like bargaining and just buy it. But when the price is too high, people might feel like they should bargain.
the price is right:“the price is right”是说某种商品价格很合适,可以买。该片语来自电视上曾经流行一时的名叫“The price is right”游戏节目。在这个节目中,如果人们想获得奖品的话,就得先猜中商品的价格。
■隐藏■
没人告诉过你,是吧?不管怎么样,你觉得作为外国人讲价难吗?
常见错误及点评(点击查看)常见错误:I guess you not hear that. Well, do you think it is hard for foreigners to bargain with Chinese?
参考答案:I guess you didn’t catch that one. Well, do you think it is difficult for foreigners to bargain with Chinese?
“I guess you didn’t catch that one”是指因没人通知而不知晓某事。Catch通常用来指棒球中接球这个动作。
■隐藏■
或许有的外国人总是将中国商品的价格折合成美元来看,觉得其实也不贵嘛,所以就不讲价。
常见错误及点评(点击查看)常见错误:But some foreigners also change the RMB into dollars and they think maybe this price in dollars would be good, so they just don’t bargain.
change:两种货币的兑换可以用change或exchange。例如:I want to the bank to exchange dollars for RMB.我去银行把美元兑换成人民币。但很明显,对话中的所谓“兑换”衡量的是头脑中货币价值,所以不应用change,用consider、regard或see较为适合。
think maybe:think和maybe是中国学生英语口语中的惯用词汇。而且似乎已经成为一种定式:表达“想”就用“think”、表达“也许”就用“maybe”。实际上还有很多同义词可供选择。例如,表示“想”的还有“contemplate”、“consider”和“figure”等;表示“也许”时也可以用“probably”等词。
参考答案:But some foreigners might regard the RMB value of the item in dollars and consider it a good deal so they don’t bargain.
■隐藏■
作业:翻译对话中划线的句子。并不是所有的商店都能。
posted on 2007-09-22 10:19
ice小5 阅读(185)
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