2014年ESL之商务英语 07 Competing in Business

 

Competing in Business 

Yoko: We used to be the only game in town. Now we have three competitors and they are luring¹ away our customers. 

Cedric: I know. We need to do something before we go under. What about price matching? 

Yoko: Our prices are already competitive. If we want to focus on price, we’ll need to undercut our competitors. 

Cedric: Slashing² prices would be really hard on our profit margin³, but these are desperate times. What do you think of a two-for-one deal? We could offer it for a limited time. 

Yoko: We can do that if lowering our prices doesn’t work. I’m thinking we could go in another direction. What do you think about offering freebies or gifts with purchase? 

Cedric: I think that’s a good idea. The more frills we include the better our services look. What kind of frills? 

Yoko: I’m not sure, but the more bells and whistles the better. 

Cedric: And if all of this doesn’t work? 

Yoko: Then we’ll be up the creek⁴ without a paddle! 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

2 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。