外刊精讀

快購時(shí)代的“連環(huán)退貨買家”

導(dǎo)讀：

在當(dāng)今時(shí)代，時(shí)尚業(yè)競爭激烈，零售商們用各種方式讓退貨變得不再

困難。大多數(shù)情況下，消費(fèi)者們只需要把服飾帶回服裝店就可以了。這雖

然讓退換貨物變得非常方便，卻催生出了不少先大量購買商品，再退還回

去的買家。這看似無傷大雅，但公司的利潤卻因此受到影響。面臨這一趨

勢，很多公司卻沒有想出相應(yīng)的對策。本集《外刊精讀》討論"連續(xù)退貨

族”給賣家?guī)淼挠绊?，并介紹一些和購物有關(guān)的英語詞匯。

一、語篇泛讀

Vocabulary:shopping詞匯：購物

We'vealldoneit.Webuysomethingwethinkwelikeandthenchange

ourmindsaboutit.Whetherpanicbuying,animpulsepurchaseorshopper's

remorse,we'refortunatemanycompaniesallowusto

easilyexchangeorrefunditems.Infactit'ssoeasythesedays

thatretailersareseeinganincreaseinanewtypeofshopper:theserial

returner.

Aserialreturnerissomeonewhobuysitems,ofteninbulk,onlyto

returnmostofthem.41-year-oldHesterGrainger,founderofMumalaClub,

estimatesspending￡300to￡400eachmonthonclothes,butreturning

"around80%",shetoldtheBBC.Thisisn'tunique.Barclaycard,which

processesnearlyhalfoftheUK'screditanddebitcardtransactions,says

thatinthelasttwoyears26%ofretailershaveseenanincreaseinin-store

andonlinereturns-withthenumberofitemsbeingsentbackupby22%.

It'saproblemforcompanies.Handlingthesereturnseatsintoprofits.

Freedeliveryforthecustomermeansthecompanyfootsthebill.Itemsmay

needtoberepackaged.Theyaredamaged-makingthemunfitforresale.

TonyMannix,CEOofClipper,alogisticsfirmthathandlesreturnedgoods

formajorretailers,saidabout5%ofthemendup"beingbinned."Sometimes

thefastfashioncyclehasmovedon.Bythetimetheitemcomesback,it

becomesacut-priceitemonareduced-to-clearrail-atfurtherlosstothe

company.

Somecompaniesaretakingactiontodeterthisbehavior.Accordingtoa

BBCarticle,fourintenretailersnowsaytheychargeforreturnsto

discouragethesendingofnon-faultyitems.OnlineretailgiantAmazonwas

reportedtohavestartedbarringcustomerswithtoomanyreturneditems.

ThisissomethingastudybyretailmanagementsystemBrightpearlfound

overhalfofUKfashionretailerswouldconsider.AndBarclaycardsaysathird

ofretailershavehikedtheirpricestocoverthesereturns.

ButVickyBrock,directorofdatainnovationatReBoundReturns,a

returnsmanagementsoftwaresystem,believesthisisn'tthebeststrategy.

SpeakinginaBBCarticle,shesaysdiscouragingreturnsshowsalackof

understandingbytheretailer.Usingdata,companiescanreducereturnsby

helpingcustomerschoosebetter.SomecompaniessuchasUniqloandAsos

alreadyprovideasuggestedsizebasedonthecustomer'sprevious

purchasesandinformationonheightandweight.Ultimately,shesays,

returnsarenowasmuchapartoftheshoppingexperienceasbuyingthings,

andshopsneedtotakethisintoconsideration.

二、詞匯表

panicbuying（因害怕商品短缺的）恐慌性購物

impulsepurchase沖動消費(fèi)

shopper'sremorse買了后悔的心態(tài)

exchange換（貨）

refund退款

retailer零售商

serialreturner連環(huán)退貨的消費(fèi)者

inbulk大量、成批

transaction交易

footthebill掏腰包

repackage重新包裝

logisticsfirm物流公司

fastfashion（緊跟流行趨勢、價(jià)格低廉的）快速時(shí)尚

cut-price降價(jià)出售的

reduced-to-clear清倉減價(jià)

rail掛衣桿、架

charge收費(fèi)

returns退貨

hike（價(jià)格）大幅增加

suggestedsize推薦尺寸

三、測試與練習(xí)

閱讀課文并回答問題。

1.Trueorfalse?Serialreturnersareontherise.

2.ApproximatelywhatproportionofherclothespurchasesdoesHester

Graingerreturn?

3.Whatactionsarecompaniestakingtostopserialreturning?

4.Whatdoesdiscouragingreturnsrevealaboutaretailer,accordingto

VickyBrock?

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans'thrownaway,?

請?jiān)诓粎⒖颊n文的情況下完成下列練習(xí)。選擇一個(gè)意思合適的單詞填

入句子的空格處。

1.Idon'tknowwhyIboughtthischocolate.I'mnotevenhungry!Itwas

an.

panicbuyimpulsepurchase

refundfastfashion

2.Theyweresocheap!Iboughttheminasectionoflast

season'sclothes.

shopper'sremorse

suggestedsize

exchange

reduced-to-clear

3.Withthehurricaneapproaching,peoplehavestartedwater

andfood.

panicbuyingimpulsepurchasing

serialreturninginbulking

4.Itwasabaddate.SheleftwithoutmeearlyandIhadtofor

themeal!

feetthebill

footthebill

eyethebill

legthebill

5.Abadpotatoharvesthasledtoretailersthepriceofcrispsas

suppliesgrowscarce.

panicbuying

impulsepurchasing

hiking

cuttingtheprice

【參考答案】

閱讀課文并回答問題。

1.Trueorfalse?Serialreturnersareontherise.

True.Inthelasttwoyears26%ofretailershaveseenanincreasein

in-storeandonlinereturns-withthenumberofitemsbeingsentbackup

by22%.

2.ApproximatelywhatproportionofherclothespurchasesdoesHester

Graingerreturn?

Hesterreturnsaround80%ofherclothespurchases.

3.Whatactionsarecompaniestakingtostopserialreturning?

Someretailerschargeforreturns,somebarcustomerswithtoomany

returnsandsomeretailershavehikedtheirprices.

4.Whatdoesdiscouragingreturnsrevealaboutaretailer,accordingto

VickyBrock?

Shesaysdiscouragingreturnsshowsalackofunderstandingbythe

retailer.

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans'thrownaway'?

Binned."TonyMannix,CEOofClipper,alogisticsfirmthathandles

returnedgoodsformajorretailers,saidabout5%ofthemendup"being

請?jiān)诓粎⒖颊n文的情況下完成下列練習(xí)。選擇一個(gè)意思合適的單詞填

入句子的空格處。

1.Idon'tknowwhyIboughtthischocolate.I'mnotevenhungry!Itwas

animpulsepurchase.

2.Theyweresocheap!Iboughttheminareduced-to-clearsectionof

lastseason'sclothes.

3.Withthehurricaneapproaching,peoplehavestartedpanic

buyingwaterandfood.

4.Itwasabaddate.SheleftwithoutmeearlyandIhadtofootthe

billforthemeal!

5.Abadpotatoharvesthasledtoretailershikingthepriceofcrispsas

suppliesgrowscarce.

讓現(xiàn)代科技溫暖你的冬日

導(dǎo)讀：

在科技并不發(fā)達(dá)的過去，人們可能會為如何在嚴(yán)寒天氣里更好地保暖

而倍感困擾?，F(xiàn)如今，每值嚴(yán)冬時(shí)節(jié)，雖然溫度驟降、天氣惡劣，但隨著

各類智能保暖產(chǎn)品的問世，冬天也能變得舒適宜人。人們憑借科學(xué)技術(shù)發(fā)

明了各式各樣的防寒方法。比如，用智能電子設(shè)備調(diào)節(jié)屋內(nèi)和衣物的溫度；

使用無線科技制造會自動發(fā)熱的服飾。聽《外刊精讀》音頻，讓你的冬天

從此不再寒冷！

一、語篇泛讀

Vocabulary:winterandheating詞匯：冬日和供暖

Inmymemory,wintersalwaysusedtobereallyunpleasant.Youhad

tobundleupjusttokeepwarmwhenyouwentoutside.Youwereoftencold,

wetandnevermorethanasoddenmisstepawayfromapatchofblackice.If

youdidn'thaveanastyslide,you'darrivehometoanice-coldhouse.And

thatwouldmeanturningontheheatingandwaiting.It'samiracleyoudidn't

getchilledtothebone.

Fortunately,thingsdon'thavetobesochallenginganymore.

Technology,engineeringanddesignhaveadvancedgivingusnewsolutions

tooldproblems.Itmeansdealingwithwinterneedn'tbelikeskatingonthin

ice.

Withasmartthermostat,ourhomescanbetoastywhenweneedthem

tobe.Manymodelsfeaturesmartphoneappsthatallowyou

toregulatetemperatureremotely,sowecanwarmupthehousebeforewe

arrivehome.Accordingtotechradar.com,thelargestUK-basedconsumer

technologynewsandreviewswebsite,Tado'smodelfeaturesvoicecontrol,

whiletheNest'learns'yourhabitsandautomaticallyheatsthehomefor

you.

Clotheshavebeengivenanupgrade,too.Electronicthermaljackets,

hoodiesandparkasheatupwhenyouturnthemon.Whatbetterwayto

keepsnuginthedeadofwinter?Atthetouchofabutton,orthroughanapp

onourphones,theclothinggeneratesheatfromelementsplacedinside.

Manymodelsofferthreelevelsofheatingwhichstaywarmforover12

hours.

Finally,thereistheheadgear-Beaniesandearmuffsthatfeature

speakersincludedinthefabricusingBluetoothtechnologysowecanlisten

toourfavoritemusicor,insomecases,haveaphonecallusingthein-built

microphone.Allwhilekeepingtheheadwarmandavoidingachill.

Formany,thethoughtofwinterusedtobeenoughtomaketheirblood

runcold.Butusingtechnology,lifeneedn'tfreezeup.Withtheright

solutions,there'snoreasonwhywintercan'tbereally,reallycool.

二、詞匯表

bundleup穿暖和，多穿衣服

sodden濕漉漉的

blackice（路面上的）薄冰

slide滑倒

chilledtothebone寒冷刺骨的

skatingonthinice如履薄冰

thermostat溫度自動調(diào)節(jié)器

toasty暖烘烘的，暖意綿綿的

regulate調(diào)節(jié)、控制

thermal（衣物）有保暖功能的

snug暖和舒適的

inthedeadofwinter隆冬時(shí)節(jié)

element電熱元件

beanie（無檐的）毛線便帽

earmuff耳套

chill受涼

makesomeone'sbloodruncold使人不寒而栗

freezeup凍滯不前,失去生機(jī)

cool很棒的（又指〃涼爽的〃，這里是雙關(guān)語）

三、測試與練習(xí)

閱讀課文并回答問題。

1.TrueorFalse?Technologycondonothingtomakewinterlessharsh.

2.Howdoeselectronicthermalclothingwork?

3.WherearethespeakersinaBluetoothbeanie?

4.Withasmartthermostatandaphone,whatareweabletodo?

5.Whichwordusedinthearticlemeans'fromadistance'?

請?jiān)诓粎⒖颊n文的情況下完成下列練習(xí)。選擇一個(gè)意思合適的單詞填

入句子的空格處。

1.Youneedtowearmorethanthat!It'ssnowingandyou'llbe.

bloodruncold

freezeup

chilledtothebone

deadofwinter

2.John,I'mtiredoftellingyouoff.Youare,Sitdownandstudy

please.

skatingonthinice

blackice

sodden

toasty

3.Ihadforgottenmyumbrella.BythetimeIgothome,mycoatwas

andIwasexhausted.

slidethermal

toastysodden

4.Ourheatingisn'tworking.Ithinktheintheboilermightbe

broken.

thermalelement

icemachine

5.Oncewe'dlitafire,thelittlewoodencabinbecamequite.It

waslovely.

soddenthermal

chillsnug

【參考答案】

閱讀課文并回答問題。

1.TrueorFalse?Technologycandonothingtomakewinterlessharsh.

False.Technology,engineeringanddesignhaveadvanced,givingusnew

s