2013年ESL之商务英语 24 Dealing With Rising Production Costs

 

Dealing¹ With Rising Production Costs

Giovanni: There are no two ways about it. We have to raise prices. 

Melanie: We can’t. We already raised prices earlier this year. Doing it again risks alienating² our customers. 

Giovanni: What else can we do? Our production costs have risen nearly 15 percent. We’ve tried absorbing them and offsetting³ them, but nothing has worked. Our profit margin⁴ continues to shrink and we don’t have any other choice. 

Melanie: What about lowering the quality of our raw materials? We could use a cheaper supplier. 

Giovanni: That’s a sure way to lose customers. If we start cutting corners on quality, our customers will leave in droves. 

Melanie: What if we discontinue manufacturing some of the less popular items? That should save us some money. 

Giovanni: Not enough. We either raise prices or stop production altogether. 

Melanie: There is one other option. 

Giovanni: What? 

Melanie: We could reduce our workforce⁵. 

Giovanni: You mean fire people? That’s off the table! 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

3 offsetting   

n.偏置法v.抵消( offset的现在分词 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• Dealers, having concluded a forward contract, should always hedge with an offsetting contract. 外汇经营商在签订了一项远期合同之后总是应进行套头交易签订一项相抵合同。 来自辞典例句
• Where does Germany think offsetting shifts into greater external deficits might occur? 在德国看来，这么大的外部赤字应该转移到哪里？ 来自互联网

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。