2014年ESL之商务英语 27 Spotting Trends

Spotting Trends 

Heidi: You look very relaxed reading magazines in the middle of the workday. 

Tim: It’s my job. I’m tasked with spotting new trends. 

Heidi: And you do that by reading magazines with your feet up? 

Tim: Why not? I also frequent places where hipsters hang out, listening to their conversations and observing what they’re wearing, eating, drinking, and doing. 

Heidi: That doesn’t sound too onerous¹. 

Tim: It’s all about finding the trendsetters, the people who are beta testers and early adopters. These are also the bellwethers² for when a trend has run its course. 

Heidi: Can’t you just see what people are buying? 

Tim: By then, it’s too late. Those are people who are jumping on the bandwagon, not the movers and shakers. 

Heidi: Well, don’t look at me. I lag behind every trend and don’t have any idea what’s in or out. 

Tim: Luckily, you have me to tell you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your choice of footwear... 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

2 bellwethers   

n.系铃的公羊( bellwether的名词复数 )；前导；领导者；群众的首领

参考例句：

• Two bellwethers- -Apple and Yahoo- -announced their third-quarter earnings after close of trading Tuesday afternoon. 两只领头羊-苹果和雅虎-宣布其第三季度盈馀后，周二下午收盘。 来自互联网