【一起听英语】黄牛党售票

 你是否有过为了看一场特别精彩的比赛或者演唱会而从黄牛党手中买票的经历？

Rob: Hello, welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob.

Neil: And hello, I'm Neil.

Rob: Today we're talking about ticket touts². The verb 'to tout¹' means to sell

tickets for an event such as a sports match or concert for more money than

their real price – or face value. And the people who do it are called touts.

Now, be honest Neil, have you ever bought a ticket from a tout?

Neil: No, if I don't get a ticket from an official source I tend to just miss the event.

Rob: Fair enough. Well, I've never been that desperate to see a show that I've

needed to buy a ticket from a tout – but I guess, if a must-see match or a

concert was a sell-out and there were no tickets, then I might be tempted³.

Neil: It's a dodgy – or dishonest – and unreliable business and it’s a big problem

which we'll be discussing soon. But first, have you got a 'dodgy' question for

me Rob?

Rob: Nothing dodgy here Neil, just a good honest question about ticket sales.

Now, we know tickets to see a pop singer or band can sell out very quickly.

But according to the Guinness World Records, which singer sold the most

ever tickets in one day for his 2006 World Tour? Was it…

a) Robbie Williams

b) Bob Dylan

c) Justin Timberlake

Neil: I'm going to go for Justin Timberlake, c).

Rob: OK. We’ll find out if you're right later on. Let's talk more now about ticket

touts. These are people who sell tickets dishonestly. Tickets can be bought

honestly – or legitimately⁴ – through an official agent, sometimes on a

website.

Neil: That's right but sometimes agents add on commission⁵ – an extra charge for

processing the tickets. Plus there's sometimes a fee for credit card

transactions⁶. I find that really annoying.

Rob: Yeah, me too. And of course the best place to pick up a ticket is usually from

the box office at the venue⁷ – the place where the event is happening. Then

you get to pay the genuine price. 

6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2014

Page 2 of 4

Neil: And even then ticket prices can be really high. Some people pay hundreds of

pounds for the best tickets – possibly for front row seats.

Rob: Not me Neil. Being a cheapskate, I go for the cheapest seats, usually up in

'the gods' – I mean, the seats high up at the back – that's where you can get

a bargain – even if you get a restricted view and you can’t see too well!

Neil: Well, when even these seats have sold out, some people give in to the

temptation of the ticket touts. These are the guys who stand outside the

venue just before the event starts – or they operate online. But the tickets

they sell are not always the bargain you think they are.

Rob: No. Sometimes they charge inflated⁸ prices – or high prices for the basic

ticket for the sort of seats that I sit in. And sometimes they sell a fake⁹ ticket

– so not a real one – for a seat that's already booked. It leaves you out-ofpocket

– you lose your money.

Neil: It's a big problem in London and other cities around the world. It's especially

a concern for theatres that are subsidised or receive money from the state.

Rob: Yes, such as London's Royal Opera House. Let's hear from its Chief

Executive¹⁰, Alex Beard. What is the solution to the problem – and what advice

does he give for avoiding the touts?

Alex Beard, Chief Executive, Royal Opera House:

People have been wrestling with this issue now for decades, and no one's come up with

the perfect silver bullet, as it were, to take the touts out of business. There are,

however, authorised agencies that sell tickets, and they are listed on websites. And I

would recommend anyone who wants to get a last minute ticket to look at those,

because they are reputable, they will charge a fair price and won't be effectively misselling

tickets.

Rob: Some interesting words. He says there is not a perfect 'silver bullet' for

stopping the touts. A silver bullet means one simple answer to completely

solve the problem. So what does he suggest?

Neil: He says use authorised agencies – so companies that have been checked and

approved by the venues¹². These are reputable – so people have a good

opinion of them and they can be trusted.

Rob: Yes, and they will charge a fair price too. You won't be – as we sometimes

say – ripped¹³ off.

Neil: In many cases reselling tickets and making a profit is not allowed, and if

someone is found doing it, the tickets they're selling become void¹¹ – or not

valid¹⁴, so the buyer can’t actually use the tickets they've paid for.

Rob: A BBC investigation¹⁵ found one website was offering two tickets to see the

play Coriolanus at a London theatre for £2,015. The face value was originally

£20 to £35 each. 

6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2014

Page 3 of 4

Neil: Well, luckily for me, I couldn't afford that kind of price so I would wait for a

genuine cheaper ticket to become available.

Rob: Or, if that doesn't happen, choose another play to see. There's plenty of

choice in London's West End!

Neil: Good advice there Rob, although it's harder to get tickets for a band or singer

who's performing in your city for one night only.

Rob: A bit like buying a ticket for one singer who holds the record for selling the

most ever tickets in one day. But who was it?

Neil: I said c) Justin Timberlake.

Rob: He is very popular isn't he, but not as popular as Robbie Williams was. He

sold 1.6 million tickets in 24 hours. Did you buy one of them Neil?

Neil: No I didn't!

Rob: Before we go, Neil, could you remind us of some of the vocabulary that we've

heard today?

Neil: Yes, we heard:

ticket touts

face value

dodgy

legitimately

agent

commission

transactions

venue

cheapskate

inflated prices

fake

out-of-pocket

silver bullet

reputable

void

Rob: Thanks. Well, that brings us to the end of today's 6 Minute English. We hope

you’ve enjoyed today’s programme. Please join us again soon. Bye.

Neil: See you.

1 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

2 touts   

n.招徕( tout的名词复数 )；（音乐会、体育比赛等的）卖高价票的人；侦查者；探听赛马的情报v.兜售( tout的第三人称单数 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• Many vouchers are returned for cash, allowing touts and middle men to make a healthy margin. 许多月饼券都被兑换成现金，这让券贩子和中间商赚取了不蜚的利润。 来自互联网
• Spotting prey, the customary crowd of hustlers and touts swarmed around, jostling for my business. 照例有大群的拉客黄牛在寻觅猎物，他们争相过来抢我的生意。 来自互联网

3 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

4 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

6 transactions   

处理( transaction的名词复数 )； 事务； （一笔）交易； [复数]（学术团体等的）议事录

参考例句：

• a system of paperless business transactions 无纸商业交易系统
• financial transactions between companies 公司之间的财务往来

7 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

8 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

10 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

11 void   

n.空虚，空白，真空；adj.空的，缺乏的，无效的；vt.清空，释放，取消，离开；vi.排泄

参考例句：

• Suddenly the street was void of people.街道上突然间空无一人。
• The treaty has been declared void.条约被宣布无效。

12 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

13 ripped   

adj. <美俚>喝醉的，受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯，只剩下裸露的地板。
• I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。

14 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。