美国女孩在中国的砍价四部曲 Battle of the Bargain

Step one: I tread into the store with my eyes darting all about the room⁷. If I see something I like (for instance, let’s say it’s a bag), I quickly glance over it and focus on something else and approach it. At this point, the vendor will ask me, “You like? I give you good price.” In response I shake my head and move on. Now, I look at the bag that caught my eyes and make sure that it’s worth buying. I continue to look around but now I take the time to comprehend⁸ the vendor’s personality. If the vendor is a boy, he should look very interested in what I’m looking at. Otherwise, he doesn’t want to be there. Boys are the most difficult to bargain with because they want as much money as they can get. However, if the vendor is a girl I focus on her face and her clothes. If her face seems satisfied and in a good mood, I continue to look around because she will most probably be flexible in bargaining. If she’s scowling⁹ , I just get out of there as fast as I can. Bargaining with an angry vendor is as intimidating as being put into a ring with a sumo-wrestler¹⁰. After scrutinizing¹¹ her face I then glance over her clothes. If she’s wearing casual jeans, a shirt, and working shoes that means she’s hardworking and simple. If she is wearing relatively nice clothes, that means she’ll probably be greedy when telling me the price because she’ll want to spend as much money as she can to get more clothes to flaunt her style¹². Now let’s say I want to purchase the bag but by the looks of the vendor, the odds are not in my favor¹³. I quickly ask the price, tell her to give me his or her last price, tell her my last price and then walk out.

Step two: Now I linger about¹⁴ the market, trying to find the store that has the bag I want. At this point, I know what starting price I’ll get. While walking I can make some quick calculations and figure out how much it’s really worth. While looking for the bag I also take into account the vendors who are standing in the front of their stores. Those vendors who call at me and try to get my attention are the ones I gravitate¹⁵ towards, since they’re eager to make a sale and I’m eager to shop.

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7. tread: 踏，踩；dart: 投射（目光）。

8. comprehend: 理解，领会。

9. scowling: 愁眉不展的，闷闷不乐的。

10. 和一个愤怒的小贩讨价还价就和被放到拳击场上面对一个相扑运动员一样可怕。intimidating: 吓人的；ring: 拳击场；sumo-wrestler: 相扑运动员。

11. scrutinize: 详细检查。

12. greedy: 贪婪；flaunt: 炫耀。

13. odds: 几率，胜算；in one’s favor: 对某人有利。

14. linger about: 徘徊。

15. gravitate: 被吸引。