PETS-2語法講解 (162)

字號:

I haggled him down to $25.
    對話
    Danielle: I like your new anorak, it looks really expensive, where did you get it - in that upscale sports shop in the mall?
    Russell: Well thanks, but no I didn't. I got it in the market.
    Danielle: How much did you pay for it?
    Russell: Not as much as the man asked for. He wanted $45.
    Danielle: That would have been a bit steep, it's almost the shop price.
    Russell: I know, but I haggled him down to $25, so I reckon I've got a bit of a bargain.
    丹尼利:我喜歡你這件連帽夾克,看來很昂貴,在哪里買的?是不是購物中心那家高級運動用品店?
    羅素:謝謝你的欣賞,不過,這件夾克不是在那運動用品店買的,而是在市場里。
    丹尼利:你花了多少錢買?
    羅素:沒有那人開價那么多。他要四十五元。
    丹尼利:那未免太貴了,幾乎等于商店價錢。
    羅素:我知道。但我跟他殺價,降到二十五元。我想想,算是買到便宜貨。
    羅素說,他跟小販講價,把夾克的價錢殺到二十五元:I haggled him down to $25 for the anorak。Haggle即‘講價’,常用于haggle somebody/something down的句式,I haggled the price down即‘我把價錢殺了下去’。這個haggle是及物動詞(transitive verb)。但haggle也常作不及物動詞(intransitive verb),即其后不直接用受詞(object),常見說法是haggle with somebody over something,例如:I haggled with him over (the price of )the anorak, finally getting it for $25。Haggle的一個同義詞是dicker,也是不及物動詞,例如:(1) I hate to dicker(我不喜歡講價)。(2) I dickered with him over the refrigerator, trying to beat down the price(我和他講價,要他降低電冰箱的售價)。Beat down有‘殺價’的意思。The price the vendor asked was $45, but I beat it/him down to $25即‘那小販開價四十五元,但我把價錢殺到二十五元’。‘價錢太高了’的英文俗語說法是The price is a bit(或pretty)steep/stiff。Steep的原意是‘陡峭’,stiff則是‘僵硬’,上述用法無非引申原意。最后談?wù)剈pscale一字。這個字是指‘適合高消費階層的’或‘價高質(zhì)優(yōu)的’,反義詞是downscale,等于英式英文的upmarket、downmarket,例如:(1) The publisher has decided to launch an upmarket fashion magazine(出版社決定出版一本高消費階層的時裝雜志)。(2) The shop moved downmarket(那家商店轉(zhuǎn)攻低價市場)。