考研英语是一门需要长时间积累的学科，对于备战2015考研的学子们来说，同学们应该主攻单词和语法，坚持每天1-2篇的英语阅读以此来培养语感。

　　先给大家补充一个结构：
　　Sth comes at a cost.
　　(做)某事会付出代价; 某事很贵;
　　Finding a job comes at a cost. = Finding a job can be expensive.

　　今天的句子是最新的一期经济学人上的文章，关于公司合并的，也是一共四个句子，构成一个相对完整的段落，希望同学们能不看解析就读懂。重点是把握一些熟悉单词的具体语境含义。
　　On May 20th AT&T, America’s second-biggest supplier of both mobile-phone and fixed-line-broadband services, agreed to buy Direct TV, the country’s leading satellite-TV distributor, for $48.5 billion in cash and shares. Two words can sum up why AT&T was so keen to buy Direct TV and why its owners were happy to sell: bundles and bulk. Telecoms and television companies everywhere are desperate to sell customers bundles of mobile telephone services, fixed lines, broadband and television, rather than individual services. Extra bulk promises extra bargaining power with programme-makers: a similar logic underlies a proposed $45 billion tie-up between America’s two biggest cable-TV companies, Comcast and Time Warner Cable (which also rank first and third in broadband).

　　第一句：
　　On May 20th AT&T, America’s second-biggest supplier of both mobile-phone and fixed-line-broadband services, agreed to buy Direct TV, the country’s leading satellite-TV distributor, for $48.5 billion in cash and shares.
　　参考译文：5月20日，AT&T公司，美国第二大移动通讯和固定线宽带服务供应商，同意以484亿美金的价格用现金和股票的形式收购Direct TV公司，美国国内领先的卫星电视分销商。
　　第二句：
　　Two words can sum up why AT&T was so keen to buy Direct TV and why its owners were happy to sell: bundles and bulk.
　　参考译文：两个单词能概括为什么AT&T公司如此热衷于收购Direct TV公司，而后者又是如此开心的出售自己：捆绑和规模(bundles and bulk)
　　注意：如果不懂这两个单词的语境含义就看3句和4句了。
　　第三句：
　　Telecoms and television companies everywhere are desperate to sell customers bundles of mobile telephone services, fixed lines, broadband and television, rather than individual services.
　　各地的通讯公司和电视服务商都急切地打包出售移动通讯服务，固定宽带业务和电视业务，而不是单独出售某一项业务。
　　第四句：
　　Extra bulk promises extra bargaining power with programme-makers: a similar logic underlies a proposed $45 billion tie-up between America’s two biggest cable-TV companies, Comcast and Time Warner Cable (which also rank first and third in broadband).

　　【词汇突破】：
extra 增加的
　　Promise 产生，带来
　　Underlie 导致，带来
　　Tie-up 合并

　　【参考译文】：增加的规模会带来更强的与节目制造商更强的谈判实力。这一相似的逻辑也导致了美国两家最大的有线电视公司之间近450亿美金的合并议案。两家公司分别是Comcast 和Time Warner Cable，而两家公司同时也是排名第一和第三的宽带服务供应商。