商业英语：销售说明

 　　Feifei: Welcome to 6 Minute English! I'm Feifei,

　　Neil: And I'm Neil.

　　Feifei: And in today's programme we're talking about - err¹, actually, what are we talking about today Neil?

　　Neil: Well, I've made a big decision today Feifei. Everybody has a mobile phone and I'm not like everybody, I am an individual, so I've decided² to get rid of my phone.

　　Feifei: But everyone in this country has got a phone.

　　Neil: That's just the point. I've got this report from Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator that says that 92% of UK adults now own a mobile phone.

　　Feifei: Apart from you.

　　Neil: Apart from me.

　　Feifei: Oh, but that's just you being special. Anyway, more and more people are now actually buying mobile phones, not just in the UK but across the world.

　　Neil: That's true, and manufacturers are always designing better handsets so that they can sell more and more, and increase their profits.

　　Feifei: Yes, like new smartphones that allow you to search the internet and make phone calls, but companies have to keep up with the latest technology to survive.

　　Neil: True, otherwise you might hear this kind of report in the news.

　　BBC Reporter:

　　It's been a bad year for the company, although it started well with an unexpected rise in sales of their new phone. In fact sales rose in the first quarter and peaked in March, with over 10,000 being sold. But following the launch of a rival's new smartphone, sales declined³ steadily⁴. It decided to cut its prices in June which caused a boost⁵ in sales, but they then fluctuated⁶ and finally levelled off in September. Since then, it's selling only around 1,000 handsets a month.

　　Neil: So an interesting year for this phone company. Did you get all that?

　　Feifei: Well, I was trying to follow what happened. There was a lot of going up and down.

　　Neil: Oh, hang on. What's that? Hang on a minute, it's the phone.

　　Feifei: What?!

　　Neil: Hello, yes, yes. Of course, Betty.

　　Feifei: Is that Business Betty?

　　Neil: Yes. She's stuck outside and she wants me to let her in. Come on in!

　　Feifei: But before we carry on, I thought you just said you don't have a phone?

　　Neil: I don't have one, it's just for emergencies.

　　Feifei: But that's still a phone.

　　Neil: But you need one for emergencies.

　　Neil / FF: Hello Business Betty!! You're just in time!

　　BB: Just in time, good good! Now, what can I help you with today?

　　Neil: Can you go over some useful language for describing sales in business?

　　BB: I'd be delighted. So, to start with, when you're talking about sales, you need to give a general overview⁷. You could say 'The situation is good'.

　　Neil: The situation is good.

　　BB: And then to explain the situation, you can say 'We can see from the sales figures that…'

　　Neil: We can see from the sales figures that…

　　BB: Or, 'As the graph shows…'

　　Neil: As the graph shows…

　　BB: Next you need some key vocabulary to describe sales figures. There are lots of words you can use to say that sales have gone up. We can say 'increased'.

　　Feifei: Increased: Sales increased in January.

　　BB: Rise.

　　Feifei: Rise: There was a large rise in sales in February.

　　BB: Or the past of rise: rose.

　　Feifei: Rose: Sales rose last year.

　　BB: If things changed a lot and went up and down, you can say 'They fluctuated'.

　　Feifei: Fluctuated: Sales fluctuated for two months.

　　BB: And when sales reach their highest point, you can say 'They have peaked'.

　　Feifei: Peaked: Sales peaked in December.

　　BB: That's right. And when sales remain steady and don't change 'They are level' or 'have levelled'.

　　Feifei: Level or levelled: Sales finally levelled in September.

　　Neil: Thanks Betty, all very useful. But what happens when a company's sales are very bad?

　　BB: Then you might say that 'Sales have declined' or 'dropped'.

　　Neil: Sales have declined or sales have dropped. Now that's not good news, but you've been brilliant. Thanks Betty.

　　BB: You're welcome. Bye bye for now.

　　Feifei: Bye.

　　Neil: I think things are a lot clearer now.

　　Feifei: Yes, crystal clear! So do you know what that means?

　　Neil: Time for me to be the boss in the role-play!

　　Feifei: I'll be the boss.

　　Neil: Again!

　　Feifei: Yes again, and you need to come to me and tell me about our sales figures - they better be good.

　　Role-play

　　Feifei: Come in.

　　Neil: Hello Feifei, I've got those sales figures you asked for.

　　Feifei: Great. Please give me the details.

　　Neil: This graph shows the monthly sales of mobile phones for last year. We can see that sales of mobile phones declined steadily in January, but then increased in February.

　　Feifei: So they're on the rise?

　　Neil: Yes, but they fluctuated considerably⁸ in July and August, reaching a peak of 6,200 per month in September.

　　Feifei: So that was our biggest month for sales?

　　Neil: Actually no. Sales levelled off in October through to November. But by December there was a large rise, as you can see on this graph.

　　Feifei: A large rise, excellent. Bonuses all round!

　　Neil: Were you happy with the sales figures Feifei?

　　Feifei: Of course, a large rise in sales at the end of the year is brilliant!

　　Neil: So about the bonus you mentioned? When would I get that?

　　Feifei: Neil, it was just a role-play.

　　Neil: No, but you said I'd get a bonus, so…

　　Feifei: That's all we have time for today. Say goodbye…

　　Neil: Bye!

1 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 declined   

v.辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的过去式和过去分词 )；（道路、物体等）下倾；（太阳）落下；（在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会，但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

5 boost   

n.鼓励，激励，提高；v.鼓励，使增强信心

参考例句：

• This will be a great boost to the economy.这对于经济发展将是一个巨大的促进。
• These changes will help to boost share prices.这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

6 fluctuated   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• All year she has fluctuated between optimism and despair. 全年当中她时而乐观，时而消沉。
• He fluctuated between hope and despair. 他时而充满希望时而失望。

7 overview   

n.概观，概述

参考例句：

• The opening chapter gives a brief historical overview of transport.第一章是运输史的简要回顾。
• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。