中英双语新闻——40 Why cheap is the new trendy

 　　Step into the trendiest clothes stores in Britain or the US and you may be surprised by what’s hanging from the rails.

 

　　走进英国或美国最尖端的潮流服饰店，你可能会讶异于店里摆放的物品。

 

　　There’ll be coats with rips in the pockets and shoes scuffed¹ at the heel – lasting² traces of the items’ previous owners.

 

　　袋口开裂的外套，鞋跟磨损的鞋子，这些都是它们前任主人留下的痕迹。

 

　　Yes, these clothes are second-hand³. But if you’re a young, hip⁴ fashionista, you certainly won’t view them as second-rate.

 

　　是的，这里出售的是二手服装。但如果身为年轻的时尚潮人，你一定不会小觑它们。

 

　　A couple of years ago, before the recession hit the Western world, shopping at charity shops and second-hand clothing markets had a stigma⁵ attached to it.

 

　　几年前，当西方国家还未遭遇经济衰退时，逛慈善商店及二手服装市场是件难以启齿的事情。

 

　　The clothes were seen as shabby and old-fashioned and the customers more so. It’s pretty safe to say that, back then, if you could afford to shop elsewhere, you would. But today, with young people strapped⁶ for cash, second-hand clothing has made a comeback.

 

　　这些服饰一度被视为低劣且过时的，而去过那里的顾客也会被人嗤之以鼻。可以这样讲，那个时候如果你能去其他地方买衣服，就决不会到那里去。可如今，年轻人捉襟见肘，二手服装也就正式回归了。

 

　　“I don’t see shopping in charity shops as a worse option at all,” said 24-year-old Fran Hall, a recent graduate of King’s College London.

 

　　24岁的伦敦国王学院应届毕业生弗兰?豪尔表示：“我一点儿不觉得在慈善商店购物是退而求其次的选择。”

 

　　“You can find some great stuff in there and people are always impressed if they like something you’re wearing and you tell them it’s from a charity shop,” Fran continued. “I guess people just think about what a great bargain you’ve got.”

 

　　弗兰说道：“你可以在那里淘到很多好东西；如果有人喜欢你身上的穿着，你告诉他们这是从慈善商店买的，他们便会对此留下深刻印象。我猜他们会想你这是捡了多大一个便宜呀!”

 

　　The trend for vintage clothing goes some way to explain the rise of second-hand items.

 

　　在某种程度上，人们对古董衣的推崇也是二手服饰兴起的原因之一。

 

　　Although vintage pieces haven’t necessarily been worn before, they do all come from a previous era.

 

　　尽管古董衣不见就是被人穿破的衣服，但毕竟都有些年头了。

 

　　Old items are in fashion and it’s increasingly common to find celebrities⁷ wearing vintage items that have a story behind them – it’s no longer a faux pas to say that something you’re wearing belonged to your grandmother.

 

　　复古物品大行其道，越来越多的明星开始穿着有故事的古董衫。你不必再为穿着本属于祖母的衣服而感到失礼。

 

　　It’s not only bargain basement fashion stores that have become popular. In the UK’s Poundland shops, which stock everything from make-up to dog biscuits, business is booming.

 

　　备受人们追捧的不仅仅是那些可以讨价还价的地下时装店。在英国，经营范畴从化妆品到宠物饼干无不涉猎的百货折扣连锁店Poundland，也是生意兴隆。

 

　　Each shop stocks approximately 3,000 products, including 800 big-name brands, and most importantly, every item is priced at ￡1 (11 yuan) or less.

 

　　每家Poundland商店大概经营3000种商品，其中包括800个大品牌。而最为重要的是，每件商品的标价仅为1英镑（合11元人民币），甚至更少。

 

　　How do the shops make money if they sell at such low prices? Manufacturers, it seems, are willing to bring down prices in return for big volume purchases.

 

　　如此低价，商家怎么赚得钱呢？或许是生产厂商愿意为大宗采购而降低价格。

 

　　Of course, success is also down to the huge numbers of customers the stores attract. And surprisingly perhaps, the millions of shoppers that pass through Poundland come from all types of socio-economic groups.

 

　　当然，商家之所以大获成功也离不开庞大的顾客群。而更令人惊讶的是，光顾Poundland的数百万顾客来自社会的各个经济阶层。

 

　　Accordingly, the shops perform just as well in many affluent⁸ areas as in deprived neighborhoods.

 

　　因而，这些店面在富人区和穷人区一样生意火爆。

 

　　Cut-price clothes

 

　　英国淘衣攻略

 

　　Charity shop: It sells items such as clothes, fashion accessories, books and furniture, for the purpose of fundraising. Goods for sale are often donated by the public.

 

　　慈善商店：通常会出售衣物、时尚配饰、书籍以及家具等，经营目的是为了筹得善款。出售的货物通常来自社会各界的捐赠。

 

　　Vintage clothing shop: Clothing from the 1920s to 1980s is generally considered vintage. Its popularity has increased in recent years in line with a desire for sustainable living.

 

　　古董衫服饰店：来自上世纪20-80年代的衣物通常被认为是古董衫。几年来，由于人们对绿色环保生活的追求，也使得这些二手服饰店越加受欢迎。

 

　　Poundland: The chain was founded in 1990 in the UK. In the US, single-price shops have been around since the 1950s.

 

　　Poundland折扣店：这家连锁商店于1990年在英国成立。自上世纪50年代起，这种货品价格单一的廉价商店可谓在美国遍地开花。

1 scuffed   

v.使磨损( scuff的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚走

参考例句：

• I scuffed the heel of my shoe on the stonework. 我的鞋跟儿给铺好的石头磨坏了。
• Polly dropped her head and scuffed her feet. 波莉低下头拖着脚走开了。 来自辞典例句

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

4 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

5 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

6 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

8 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。