H: I swear I will never shop at a street market in China. It's a terrible place full of excellent profiteers! You have to keep an eye whenever it comes to paying for something.
J: cool down, Harry! What are you really mad about? Did you get ripped off?
H: yes. Last Sunday I went to a nearby market. It was on open-air fair. I chanced upon this bag and bought it on the spot, without even trying to strike a bargain. I paid one hundred and twenty. And just now I was told by my chinese colleagues I bought it overpriced. I could have talked my way to thirty.
J: is that so? I'm afraid people here will not take pity on unlucky guys like you. Bargaining has always been an indispensable precedure in business deals. It's the norm of free trade. The seller sets a preposterous price, and the buyer tries his best to bring it down, until a compromise is reached. Yet you ignored the process. No wonder you ended up easy prey.
H: but don't you think it annoying to overcharge the customers by such a handsome margin?
J: of course, that's something really irritation. And the only way to avoid being trapped is to know in advance about the real worth of the stuff. I recommend you to consult the price tags in the supermarket first. And then you may negotiate for a real deal.
我發(fā)誓再也不會在中國的農(nóng)貿(mào)市場上亂買東西了.全是些宰人的高手,太可怕了.買什么東西都得額外小心.
哈里,消消氣!你怎么了?買東西被宰了?
呃,上周日,我去了附近的一個小集市,露天的.偶然看到這個包,當(dāng)場就買下了,砍價都忘了,花了我120元.剛才,我的中國同事跟我說,我買貴了,只要30塊錢就好了.
這樣啊?恐怕這里沒人會同情你這樣的倒霉蛋.買東西不討價還價哪行啊?這是規(guī)矩.賣家漫天要價,顧客就地還價,直到雙方滿意為止.而你居然忽略了這道程序,難怪被宰.
可是你不覺的,這樣宰顧客未免也太氣人了么?
當(dāng)然,是很煩人.要想不被宰,恐怕只有是先知道價格. 我建議你先去超市看看標(biāo)價,然后你才能還價成功,買賣公平.
Swear: to make a serious promise to do something 鄭重承諾;發(fā)誓要;表示決心要
He swore revenge on the man who had killed his father.
他發(fā)誓要向那個殺死他父親的人報仇.
I swear (that) I'll never leave you.
我保證決不離開你.
She made him swear not to tell anyone.
她要他發(fā)誓不告訴任何人.
overpriced: too expensive; costing more than it is worth 價格太高的;過于昂貴的
Indispensable: essential; too important to be without 必須的;不可或缺的
Cars have become an indispensable part of our lives.
汽車已成了我們生活中必不可少的一部份.
She made herself indispensable to the department.
她成為這個部門不可缺少的一分子.
A good dictionary is indispensable for learning a foreign language.
一本好詞典是學(xué)習(xí)外語必備的.
Preposterous: completely unreasonable, especially in a way that is shocking or annoying 荒唐的;極不合情理的
These claims are absolutely preposterous!
這些要求簡直荒謬絕倫!
Overcharge: to make somebody pay too much for something 多收(某人的)錢
Make sure they don't overcharge you for the drinks.
注意別讓他們多收飲料費(fèi).
We were overcharged by £5.
我們讓人家多收了 5 英鎊.
核心詞組:
on the spot
1. immediately 當(dāng)場;當(dāng)下
He answered the question on the spot.
他當(dāng)場就回答了那個問題.
an on-the-spot parking fine
當(dāng)場繳納的違章停車罰款
2. at the actual place where something is happening 在現(xiàn)場
An ambulance was on the spot within minutes.
幾分鐘之內(nèi),一輛救護(hù)車便趕到現(xiàn)場.
an on-the-spot report
現(xiàn)場報道
3. in one exact place, without moving in any direction 在原地
Running on the spot is good exercise.
原地跑步是一種很好的鍛煉.
In advance: 預(yù)先
I ought to have told you in advance.
我應(yīng)該事先告訴你.
an easy prey:容易上當(dāng)受騙的人