1、 . What is the difference between the orthodox definition and the recent understanding of the term bargain? The difference is that the conventional understanding takes the word at its face value, i.e. buying something at a low and advantageous price while the recent definition points up busine
2、ssmen's trick to fool silly and innocent people. How would a business market its new product? And when would it cut down the price? At the beginning, a company would market its new product at a price much higher than its real worth, taking advantage of the consumer's love for novelty. When the
3、 attraction of novelty is beginning to fade, the company would make some slight cuts in the price, turning it into a so-called bargain. . What makes a customer think that “a bargain must not be missed”? This is typical of consumer psychology. Even though a very tiny cut, such as a penny, lo
4、oks like an insult, consumers do not want to miss it. They tend to think that since they have to buy such things as washing powder, soap etc., they might as well buy them one penny cheaper. Furthermore, they tend to believe these little bargains would eventually add up to a big fortune as they can s
5、ave a penny here ... and a penny there. o People who like to bargain are those who think that bargaining is the best way to save their money. That is, use less money to get the best of what they want. o Some people enjoy bargaining because they can experience the achievement of saving money. Th
6、ey can use the money that would have been wasted to do other things. To buy products at the lowest price is their top priority 5. What is the real danger of bargains? The real danger is when consumers, tempted by bargains, rush to buy things that are either unnecessary for them or hard to f
7、ind room for. 6. What common misconception do customers have when they blindly spend money on bargains? Some customers tend to think that they can make money on such bargains. Actually, however cheap the things you buy are, you always spend money rather than make money 7. What point does the wr
8、iter want to make with the example of a couple who buy sugar in bulk? The writer is trying to prove how silly it would be if people buy unnecessary things in bulk for the sake of a cheaper price. 8. What does the last paragraph mean? How would you look at this issue? The last paragraph p
9、oints out that to offer bargains is a harmful practice. The writer reiterates his argument that the blame should be put on both businessmen and consumers. For the businessmen, they make the poor poorer with the dirty commercial trick. For the consumers, they are either too naive or too greedy and fa
10、ll for such a trick. And he humorously proposes in the end that our living standards would rise by 7.39% by prohibiting bargains. o For Group: o Most people see bargaining as a way of enjoying life; they can buy things at the lowest possible price. o People who like to bargain are those who th
11、ink that bargaining is the best way to save their money. That is, use less money to get the best of what they want. o Some people enjoy bargaining because they can experience the achievement of saving money. They can use the money that would have been wasted to do other things. To buy products at
12、the lowest price is their top priority o To people who like bargaining at every opportunity, “bargaining” is just like a game. They can’t help bargaining. Even in some places, “bargaining” becomes a custom. If you don’t bargain with the vendor, maybe others will take you to be a stranger! o So
13、me people like to bargain because they think that lowering the price will enable them to afford the product they are interested in. o Some people think bargaining is a challenge. They get interested in it. If they can bargain successfully, they develop the sense of achievement. o Add more points
14、 here ….. Against Group: o Some people don’t want to become bargain hunters, because they think offering low prices may make sellers think their customers are poor or stingy. Besides, many people think it is shameful to bargain. (They are ashamed to bargain.) They think it is not necessary to ar
15、gue over one or two yuan they think it’s not necessary. o Some people never bargain when they buy things because they don’t want to make the vendor feel uncomfortable by offering cheap prices. Sometimes they don’t want to be assertive (强人所难) Some of them want to give the impression that they can
16、afford anything. o Some people refuse to bargain because they think they cannot afford it. So they simply give up. Some people even think that bargaining is shameful. It might appear that he or she is too poor to afford the asking price. o Some people think bargaining is embarrassing because the
17、y want to show they are rich, and they can afford anything they want. o Some think the vendors will get angry so they dare not to bargain. o Some people don’t like bargaining because they think they are likely to be cheated when the sellers give discount, maybe the quality is not good, maybe th
18、e price the seller offers now is as unreasonable as the original price, maybe they can buy it at a lower price than the seller offers, etc. Retell the story using the following clues. p comparison between the orthodox definition and a recent definition of the word bargain p how a bargain is created by businessmen p consumer psychology in shopping p mistaken view on bargains p making money on bargains p absurdity of buying unnecessary things in bulk p conclusion—bargain: harmful to our life, lowering our living standard






