情景对话
Mary: Three other people started to bid. One called himself "Buddhabuyer", so I knew he meant business. I raised my bid twice, but it kept going up.

Joe: How high did the price go?

Mary: I don't know. I dropped out at $250.

Joe: You didn't watch the end of the auction?

Mary: No. It wasn't the super bargain I thought it was.

词汇注释
★ mean (v.) 意欲，打算。mean business意为“认真”

★ go up增长

★ drop out 放弃，退出

参考译文
玛丽:有三个人开始抢标。一个人还自称是‘佛像买家’，所以我知道他是认真的。我提高了标价两次，但价钱越来越高。

乔:价钱飙到多高？

玛丽:我不知道。我出到两百五十元后就放弃了。

乔:你没看最后标价？

玛丽:没有。这跟我原本以为的物美价廉完全不同。