纯正地道美语(外教讲解)270：讨论竞争

　　Mr. Ford¹: Now, of course, with all this cutting-edge technology there must be a catch, you might ask yourself. I bet the retail² price will be too much for most consumers, you might say. Well, you’d be wrong!
Mr. Ford: Yes,  of  course  the  x420  is  aimed  at the luxury market, but if you compare the  price  of  our  leading  competitors, the x420 represents incredible value for money. At only15,000RMB it is far more affordable³ and far more attractive than almost every leading brand and model.
Mr. Ford: So, what differentiates⁵ us from our competitors? Well, if we compare Orange’s luxury MP40 range then we can really highlight some of the differences.
Mr. Ford: Now, of course Orange has an enviable record for producing revolutionary and top class products, and I must admit the MP40 is a breathtaking machine. However, for most consumers the MP40 is simply far too expensive to consider.
Mr. Ford:Compared with the x420 it is more expensive and there’s no doubt that considering  the  quality  and  workmanship that goes into the x420  we really win hands down on value for money.
Mr. Ford: Also, if you compare the after sales service  we  offer  I  think  we  can  proudly boast the best customer service facilities in the whole lap-top sector⁶.  As opposed to most of our rivals, we guarantee quality, we guarantee service and we guarantee reliability⁷.
Mr. Ford: The questions we must ask ourselves are ” What does the Alpha brand stand for?  and also  ” How can we set ourselves apart from our competitors? The answer to both of these questions is the same， my friends.
Mr. Ford: Alpha stands first and foremost for quality, for excellence⁸ and for service. If we always stick to this philosophy then I’m confident that we will really be able to expand our market share significantly. Okay, let me move on now to give you an idea of our marketing⁹ campaign for the x420.

　　cutting-edge a.最新最先进的
catch n. 隐藏的问题
aim v.目标
differentiate⁴ v.使有差异
highlight v. 使人们注意到
enviable adj.  令人羡慕的
foremost adj.最重要的

　　Mr. Ford: 你也许会扪心自问，x420虽然使用了所有最新最先进的技术，那肯定还会有隐藏的问题，。你也许会说，我预计的销售价格对于大多数消费者来说都太高了。但是，你们错了。
Mr. Ford: 是的，x420瞄准的是奢侈品市场，但是如果你将价格和我们的主要竞争对手相比较，x420远远物超所值。售价1万5千人民币，这比所有的品牌和型号都能使顾客承受得起，而且对他们更有吸引力。
Mr. Ford: 那么是什么使我们与竞争对手不同？如果我们将产品同Orange公司的豪华MP40相比，我们就会注意到一些不同之处。
Mr. Ford: 尽管Orange有着引领革命和生产顶级产品的令人羡慕的记录，我必须承认MP40是令人赞叹的机器。尽管如此，对于大多数消费者，MP40太贵了而不会考虑去购买。
Mr. Ford: 同x420相比，MP40贵了很多，考虑到质量和做工，毫无疑问x420在性价比上绝对胜出。
Mr. Ford: 而且，如果你比较售后服务质量，我认为我们提供的服务是最好的。同对手相比，我们能确保质量，确保服务，并保证可靠性。
Mr. Ford: 我们必须问自己的问题是“Alpha品牌代表着什么”，还有“如何能使我们与竞争对手不同？”
这两个问题的答案都是相同的，朋友们。
Mr. Ford: Alpha代表着一流的质量，完美和一流的服务。如果我们坚持这些原则，我有信心我们能够显著地扩展市场份额。下面我们来谈下x420销售团队的情况。
 

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

5 differentiates   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• This genus of plants differentiates into many species. 这种植物可分为许多种类。
• Our fax machine differentiates between an incoming fax signal and a voice call. 我们的传真机能区分接收传真信号和语音信号。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

8 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。