零距离美语会话[娱乐]Lesson 2:I love going to the mall

Two    I love going to the mall.
我爱逛商场。

 1   Introduction
A    Clothing is pretty expensive in America.  As a general rule prices are fixed¹, so don’t try bargaining for anything, except at some private sales and flea² markets.  Of course, when they buy a car, they will negotiate.
衣服在美国相当昂贵。一般来说，价格是固定不变的，所以都用不着讨价还价，除非是私人买卖，跳蚤市场。当然，当他们买车时，他们还是会协商价格的。
B   Going shopping with foreigners is a good way to make friends with them.  Especially in China, you can be the guide, and also learn to say a lot of common things in English.
和老外去购物是和他们结交朋友的好办法。尤其在中国，你可以做他们的向导，同时还可以用英语学说很多常见的物品。
C   In American, people pay sales tax on many items that they buy.  For example, clothing, cigarettes, soda³, and gasoline are taxable items.  However, they don’t pay sales tax on food at the grocery store, unless the food they buy is prepared and ready to eat (at a restaurant, a supermarket or deli.
在美国，很多商品是要付销售税的。举例来说，衣服、烟、汽水和汽油都是打税物品。然而，杂货店的食物就不需交销售税，除非是已经做好可以吃的食物（像餐馆、超市、熟食店的）。

 2   Sample Sentences
1.  The leather shoes were priced at 1,000 RMB.
    这双皮鞋标价一千人民币。
2.   You can always bargain here, but goods tend to come and go quickly so if you like it, buy it now!
     你可以总在这里讨价还价，但是商品似乎来去得快，所以如果你喜欢，现在就买！
3.   Where can I buy an English - language newspaper?
     哪儿能买到英文报纸？
4.   I want something like this.
     我想要一件这样的。
5.   I like the blue one in the window.
     我喜欢橱窗里的那个蓝色的。
6.   What is it made of?  Will this material shrink?
     这是什么料子？ 这种料子缩水吗？
7.   Is it color-fast / crease⁴ resistant⁵ / synthetic⁶ / pure cotton / silk / genuine leather / hand-made / imported / made here?
     这种料子不退色/抗皱/人造纤维/纯棉/真丝/真皮/手工做的/进口的/本地生产的？
8.   How long will it take to alter?
     改一下需要多长时间？
9.   I’d like some shoelaces / shoe polish / moisturizing cream. 
     我要买鞋带/鞋油/润肤霜。
10.  Can you show me how it works?
      能教我怎么用吗？
11.   I’d like a blouse / jacket made to measure.
      我想定做一件短上衣/上衣。
12.   Can I pay by traveler’s cheque? / Do you accept credit cards?
      能用旅行支票付款吗？/ 能用信用卡付款吗？

 3   Conversations
1.    At the mall.
Anna Garcia is visiting her friend, Grace, in Tampa, Florida.
Grace:  Come in and have some coffee, Anna.  The kids have just gone out to the mall to hang out with their friends.
Anna:  I saw a lot of teenagers when Alan and I were there yesterday.
Grace:  They spend hours there, especially on weekends.
Anna:  Speaking of that trip, Alan bought a shirt at a department store, but the sleeves are too long.  Do you know a seamstress1 or tailor2 who can shorten them?
Grace:  I know several.  But wouldn't it be easier to take the shirt back and exchange it for the right size?
Anna:  Isn't that complicated3?
Grace:  No, it's easy.  We'll just take the shirt back to the men’s department and show them the sales slip4.  They'll exchange it for the correct size or give you a refund5.
Anna:  We?  Do you want to go with me?
Grace:  Sure.  I love going to the mall.
Anna:  What do you do there… hang around6, like the kids?

Helpful Information: 
At most stores, one can always exchange products or even get a refund⁷ within a certain amount of time if he or she still has the sales slip and the product is in good condition.  
在多数商店，在一定的期限内，一个人总是可以去兑换商品或者甚至退到钱，如果他/她还有售货发票，并且物品还完好无损。
【译文】
——安娜，进来喝杯咖啡。孩子们刚出去和他们的朋友们逛购物中心。
——昨天我和艾伦在那里的时候看到很多青少年。
——他们在那里玩几个小时，尤其在周末。
——说起那次旅行，艾伦在商场买了一件衬衣，但是袖子太长了。你认识什么裁缝师可以将它们弄短一点吗？
——我知道几个。但是把衬衣拿回去换个合适的尺寸不容易一些吗？
——那样不复杂吗？
——不，很简单。我们只要把衬衣拿到男装部，给他们看销售发票。他们要么会换个合适的尺寸，要么会把钱退给你。
——我们？你想和我一起去？
——好哇，我爱逛商场。
——你去那儿做什么……闲荡，像那些孩子一样？

2.    Bargain Hunting.
Saturday morning in Atlanta.
Liz:  Why are you reading the classifieds7?  What do you need?
David:  I'm looking for a bookcase, but I don't want to buy a new one.
Liz:  Are you having any luck?
David:  Not really.  There aren't any used bookcases listed.  But there are a few rummage⁸ sales8on Saturday.  I think I'll go to them.
Liz:  Do you mind if I go with you?
David:  Not at all.  These private sales are great places to bargain.  And sometimes you can find terrific things among all the junk.
Liz:  I learned to negotiate9 from my mother.  I thought I was pretty good at bargaining, but I had a problem the other day at Kimble's Department Store.
David:  What happened?
Liz:  I wanted to buy a beautiful wool sweater for my girlfriend.  It was priced at forty dollars, so I started by offering the salesclerk thirty.

 

Additional Information：
In America, supermarkets usually mail their sales papers to customers.  Also flea markets are popular, too.  Sometimes you can get a like new name-brand product there at a very low price for a couple of dollars.  One of the things that make flea markets appealing to Chinese is that most prices are open to negotiation⁹.  It seems to be a Chinese tradition to haggle¹⁰ over the price of virtually anything that is bought.
在美国，超市通常把他们的产品促销简介寄给顾客。同样地，跳蚤市场也很受欢迎。有时你可以在那里低价买到一件比较新的名牌产品，比如说几美金。跳蚤市场受中国人欢迎的其中之一就是大部分价格都有可能协商。中国的传统似乎是差不多任何可以购买的产品都可以讨价还价。
【译文】
——你为什么在看这些分类广告？你需要买什么？
——我想找个书架，但是我不想要一个新的。
——有没有什么好运气？
——还没有。这里没有列出任何旧书架。但是星期六有几个清仓大拍卖。我想去看看。
——你介意我和你一起去吗？
——一点都不。这些私人买卖很好去还价。而且有时候你可以在这些旧货中找到一些很好的东西。
——我从我妈妈那里学会了杀价。我原以为我很会讨价还价，但是不久前一天在金博商场，我就有过一点麻烦。
——发生了什么事？
——我想为我女朋友买件漂亮的羊毛衫。标价是四十美金，所以一开始，我就向售货员出价三十美金。

3.   At the Checkout¹¹ Counter
In line at the checkout counter of a large, modern supermarket.
Roy:  Look at this headline10 - Elvis Baby Born on Spacecraft.  Where do these tabloids11 get such crazy stories?
Iris:  I've often wondered the same thing.  I also wonder who reads them.  Then I realize that I'm standing¹² here reading them myself.
Roy:  It looks as though everyone in line reads them, or at least looks at the headlines.
Iris:  I think we picked the right line.  This one seems to be moving more quickly than the others.
Roy:  Maybe our checker is faster at scanning12 the food.
Iris:  I'm glad.  We have only about twenty things here, and I'm in a hurry to get home.
(The customer in front of them pays and leaves.)
Checker:  Good afternoon, ladies.  Paper or plastic?
Iris:  Paper bags, please.  You know, yours is the fastest-moving line in the store.
Checker:  Well, I'll let it go this time, but in the future, please don't use the express line with so many items.
【译文】
——你看这个标题——埃文斯婴儿在宇宙飞船上出生。这些小报从哪里得到这些希奇古怪的故事？
——我也经常想知道这些。我还想知道谁看这些小报。后来我发现只有我自己站着在读这些东西。
——看起来好像这排的每个人都在看，或许至少在看标题。
——我想我们选对了队伍。这行队好像比其他队移动得快一点。
——也许我们队的收银员扫视食品快一点。
——我很高兴。我们大概只有二十件商品，我还急着回家呢。（在他们前面的顾客付了钱，走了。）
——女士们，下午好。要纸袋还是塑料袋？
——请给我们纸袋。你这行队是商店里结账最快的。
——这次我就让你过去，但是以后，请不要买这么多件物品走快速结账这条线。

4.  Looking for a pair of shoes.
Rita:  Hey Joe, what are you doing in this department store? 
Joe:  Hi, Rita, I'm just looking for a pair of shoes.  I won't be here for long. 
Rita:  Why not?  When I go shoe shopping, I have so many options13 for sneakers14 that I spend awhile looking at all of the choices.
Joe:  That's my problem.  I don't have a lot of options.
Rita:  What do you mean?  This is a big store, isn't it?
Joe:  Yes, but I have unusually big feet.  That wouldn't be too much of a problem except that they're also very wide, and only a few brands sell shoes that I can fit into.
Rita:  So how do you usually go about15 buying shoes, then? 
Joe:  Well, first of all, I can only go to certain stores that can guarantee16 me a large selection.
Rita:  Well, you're in the right store.  If they don't have it, no one will.
Joe:  After that I choose something from one of the few brands that I know will fit me.  I prefer white, so I ask them to bring me a pair of white sneakers in my size.  Since I’m usually only given one or two pairs of shoes that meet my qualifications17, it makes it a very easy choice.
【译文】
——嗨，乔，你在这家百货公司干什么？
——嗨，瑞塔，我只是想买双鞋。我不会在这里呆很久。
——为什么不呢？当我去鞋店买运动鞋时，我有很多选择余地，所以我要花很长时间看完这些鞋。
——那是我的问题。我没有很多选择余地。
——你什么意思？这个商店很大，不是吗？
——是，但我的脚也特别大。本来也不会有太大问题，但是我脚又特别宽，所以只有几个牌子有我能穿的鞋。
——那么，你通常怎么买鞋？
——唔，首先，我只能去那些能保证我有很大挑选余地的鞋店。
——那你来对了鞋店。如果他们没有你穿的鞋，其它鞋店也不会有了。
——然后，从我知道的几种适合我穿的牌子中挑选一种。我比较喜欢白色，因此我要售货员按照我的尺寸拿给我一双白色运动鞋。因为通常只会有一两双鞋符合我的尺寸，因此挑选起来就非常容易。

5.   Shopping around.
Janet:  So what do you think of my new dress? 
Karen:  I think it's great!  I really like the color, and it goes really well with your eyes.  I've actually been eyeing that dress at Maxine's for a while now, but I wasn't sure I could afford ninety-five dollars for a dress at the moment.
Janet:  Um, ninety-five dollars?
Karen:

Yes, that's the price they were advertising¹³ it at.  I was hoping it might go on sale soon.  Why, how much did you pay for it?
Janet:   I bought it for one hundred and forty-five dollars at Helen's Boutique18.  I didn't know I could get it cheaper somewhere else.
Karen:  Of course!  Everything at Helen's is overpriced19, and they sell things that you can find at almost every other clothing store!  Why didn't you shop around?
Janet:  I don't know, I just saw the dress and thought about how pretty it looks and how much I wanted it.  I guess I was too impulsive20.

 

Helpful Information:
The same products may be priced quite differently at different stores.  This happens everywhere.  Shopping around may take a lot of time, but it can be very worthwhile. 
相同的产品，不同的商店，价格都可能很不一样。这点到处都一样。所以到处逛逛可能会占用很多时间，但是有可能很值得。
【译文】
——那你觉得我的新衣服怎么样？
——我认为非常好！我很喜欢这个颜色，和你的眼睛很相配。我已经注意麦克辛服装店的那件衣服一段时间了，但当时我不敢肯定我能付得起95美元买件衣服。
——什么，95美元？
——是的，那是他们做广告宣传的价格。我在希望它不久就会降价。怎么啦，这件你花了多少钱？
——在海伦时装店我花了145美元买这件。我不知道在其它地方买可以便宜一点。
——当然！海伦时装店的每件东西都定价过高，而且他们所售的东西差不多在任何一家其他服装店都能找到！你为什么不逛逛其它服装店呢？
——我不知道，我只是一看见这件衣服，就觉得非常漂亮，并且非常想买。我想我是太冲动了。
 
 4    Words and Expressions
1. seamstress  女裁缝师
2. tailor  ((尤指男装) 裁缝师
3. complicated  复杂的; 难懂的
4. sales slip  销货单, 销货发票
5. refund   退还, 退款
6. hang around  闲荡, 徘徊
7. classifieds   分类广告
8. rummage sale 义卖, 清仓大拍卖
9. negotiate  谈判, 协商, 洽谈
10. headline   标题;大标题
11. tabloid   小报
12. scanning  电子光束扫掠，扫描
13. option 选择; 选择权; 选择自由
14. sneaker   运动鞋
15. go about  着手干;做
16. guarantee  保证;担保
17. qualification  资格, 限制,
18. boutique   流行女装商店，精品店
19. overpriced  定价过高的
20. impulsive   冲动的;易冲动的

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 flea   

n.跳蚤

参考例句：

• I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话，我就要对他不客气了。
• Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。

3 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

4 crease   

n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱

参考例句：

• Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？
• Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

5 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

6 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

7 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

8 rummage   

v./n.翻寻，仔细检查

参考例句：

• He had a good rummage inside the sofa.他把沙发内部彻底搜寻了一翻。
• The old lady began to rummage in her pocket for her spectacles.老太太开始在口袋里摸索，找她的眼镜。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 haggle   

vi.讨价还价，争论不休

参考例句：

• In many countries you have to haggle before you buy anything.在许多国家里买东西之前都得讨价还价。
• If you haggle over the price,they might give you discount.你讲讲价，他们可能会把价钱降低。

11 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。