Gina带美国老板Jason去购物，Jason让Gina教他砍价。
Jason: So what's the general amount that they mark up by? Thirty percent? Forty? 所以他们一般会抬高原有价格的百分之多少？30%？40%？
G: They could mark it up seventy percent or even one hundred! That's why you've got to have an in-depth working knowledge of local prices—that way, if they quote an outrageous price, you can just laugh. 他们会抬高70%，甚至100%! 这就是为什么你要深入地了解行情的原因——那样的话，你可以了然于胸了，如果他们提出载人的高价。
Jason想知道购物中心商品标价一般要比合理价格高出多少，mark up是把抬高价格的意思，相反的，mark down 则是减价销售。Gina说，有时价格会故意标高70%，甚至100%。这也就是为什么要了解当地的价格行情，have an in-depth working knowledge of something，是深度了解的意思，in-depth is spelled i-n in, and d-e-p-t-h, depth, in-depth，这样如果别人quote an outrageous price，抬出宰人的高价，outrageous is spelled o-u-t-r-a-g-e-o-u-s, outrageous, 意思是超乎寻常的，另外需要注意的，要价动词用的是quote, q-u-o-t-e, quote.
J: In America we generally can't get away with bargaining in many shops. The prices are listed on the price tag and that's that. Sometimes you can get a discount, but it's usually never more than ten percent or so. 在美国，我们通常在许多店里面是不能还价的。价格标签上的价格就是它实际的价格。有时，你可以得到折扣，但是大多不会低于九折。
G: In China, pretty much all prices are negotiable. Some vendors tell me they actually respect buyers who can drive a hard bargain. 在中国，很多价格都是可以商量的。有些卖主告诉我其实他们是很期待买家砍价的。
J: That's interesting. 真有意思。
Jason说，在美国，商店都是明码标价，The prices are listed on the price tag. Price tag，是价格标签的意思，有时也能享受优惠discount, discount，是减价、打折的意思，但是一般很少超过百分之十。Gina说，在中国，几乎所有价格都可以砍，negotiable is spelled n-e-g-o-t-i-a-b-l-e, negotiable，是可以商量的意思。有些卖主甚至更瞧得起会砍价的买主，drive a hard bargain，是固定用法，意思是会砍价。
G: Yes...but of course the seller will always try to win the bargaining battle...that's the nature of the game. 是的……但是当然了，卖家总是会盈利的……这是自然法则。
J: Yeah, it is like a game, isn't it? Both people are bluffing, just like in poker. 是的，这就像是场博弈，对吗？双方都在虚张声势，就好像在玩扑克牌。
G: That's right. But you have to get a sense of where the bottom line is. After a while you learn to recognize a look in the seller's eyes that says: I'm really not going to go any lower. 正确，但是你要清楚底线是什么。你要学会读懂卖家的眼神，是不是表示出他真的不会再降价了。
确实，砍价就象打牌，讨价还价的双方都要虚张声势，bluff is spelled b-l-u-f-f, bluff, bluff，是虚张声势的意思。Gina 说，没错，关键是要识别卖主的底线，bottom line，要能从卖主的眼神里看出，他真的不会再降价了。 |