对话文本

E: Hey, Robert, that's a nice shirt you are wearing. Where did you get it?
R: thanks, I like it too. I bought it at the nearby department store.
E: that's nice. Do you know you can get one at the wholesale market near the zoo for a much lower price?
R: yeah, I know that. But at those places. the prices they ask you are ridiculously high, and if you don't bargain hard, you will get ripped-off.
E: true, learning how to haggle the price is one of the things people have to pick up when they come to China for the first time.
R: yeah, but personally, I hate bargaining. If I bargain,I might come to a lower price, but I will never konw the true price of what I am buying; and I always have the feeling that I am overcharged at those places.
E: yeah, I have the same feeling. Also there is another thing that bothers me the quality. Things in a department store are usually quality-guaranteed. But at a wholesale market, you never know whether what you are buying are of good quality or not.
R: that's why I like department stores more. Shopping at a wholesale market like the locals is one of the few things I am unable to grow accustomd to.
E: I understand. While it's always good to follow the local customs, I guess there are exceptions.
参考翻译
嗨,罗伯特.你身上这件衬衫不错,在哪里买的?
谢谢,我也挺喜欢这件衬衫的,就在附近的商场里买的.
挺好的.不过你知道要在动物园旁边的批发市场里买,还会便宜很多吗?
是的,我知道.但是在那些地方,通常他们的要加都很高,要是你不还价的话,你就会被狠宰一顿.
的确是,第一次来中国,人们最开始要学会的东西中有一样就是还价.
是啊,我也有同样的感觉.不过还有另一件事情让我觉得很烦,就是质量问题.在商场里买的东西,通常质量都会有保证,可是在批发市场,你就不知道你买的东西到底是质量好还是不好.
这就是为什么我更喜欢在商场里没东西,我就总是做不到像当地人一样在批发市场里购物,真的不习惯.
我明白.尽管按照当地的习俗来做很好,可是我也觉得应该有例外的情况.
核心词汇
rip somebody off usually passive, informal
to cheat somebody, by making them pay too much, by selling them something of poor quality, etc. 敲诈;讹诈
Tourists complain of being ripped off by local cab drivers.
游客们抱怨被当地的出租车司机敲了竹杠.

haggle:to argue with somebody in order to reach an agreement, especially about the price of something 争论;（尤指）讲价
I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt.
我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价.

overcharge:to make somebody pay too much for something 多收（某人的）钱 verb ~ (sb) (for sth)
Make sure they don't overcharge you for the drinks.
注意别让他们多收饮料费. VN
We were overcharged by £5.
我们让人家多收了 5 英镑.

wholesale:connected with goods that are bought and sold in large quantities, especially so they can be sold again to make a profit 批发;趸售 only before noun
wholesale goods/prices
批发货物／价格