PETS－2语法讲解(162)

　　I haggled him down to $25.
　　对话
　　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：我喜欢你这件连帽夹克，看来很昂贵，在哪里买的？是不是购物中心那家高级运动用品店？
　　罗素：谢谢你的欣赏，不过，这件夹克不是在那运动用品店买的，而是在市场里。
　　丹尼利：你花了多少钱买？
　　罗素：没有那人开价那么多。他要四十五元。
　　丹尼利：那未免太贵了，几乎等于商店价钱。
　　罗素：我知道。但我跟他杀价，降到二十五元。我想想，算是买到便宜货。
　　罗素说，他跟小贩讲价，把夹克的价钱杀到二十五元：I haggled him down to $25 for the anorak。Haggle即‘讲价’，常用于haggle somebody/something down的句式，I haggled the price down即‘我把价钱杀了下去’。这个haggle是及物动词(transitive verb)。但haggle也常作不及物动词(intransitive verb)，即其后不直接用受词(object)，常见说法是haggle with somebody over something，例如：I haggled with him over (the price of )the anorak, finally getting it for $25。Haggle的一个同义词是dicker，也是不及物动词，例如：(1) I hate to dicker（我不喜欢讲价）。(2) I dickered with him over the refrigerator, trying to beat down the price（我和他讲价，要他降低电冰箱的售价）。Beat down有‘杀价’的意思。The price the vendor asked was $45, but I beat it/him down to $25即‘那小贩开价四十五元，但我把价钱杀到二十五元’。‘价钱太高了’的英文俗语说法是The price is a bit（或pretty）steep/stiff。Steep的原意是‘陡峭’，stiff则是‘僵硬’，上述用法无非引申原意。最后谈谈upscale一字。这个字是指‘适合高消费阶层的’或‘价高质优的’，反义词是downscale，等于英式英文的upmarket、downmarket，例如：(1) The publisher has decided to launch an upmarket fashion magazine（出版社决定出版一本高消费阶层的时装杂志）。(2) The shop moved downmarket（那家商店转攻低价市场）。