163 An Outspoken Crusader for Consumer Rights
163 直言不讳的消费者权益卫士
Peter Owens was an outspoken opponent of anything that smacked of Big Business. "It's outrageous! The bigger those department store chains get, the more overbearing their attitudes become and the more they are likely to overcharge their customers," he said at the top of his voice. He clearly felt strongly about this subject." Opening ever larger number of outlets in outlying areas is a way of doing business that's already outmoded, mark my words. And the gimmicks they get up to! One of them recently opened a new shopping complex in an oval shape. Just imagine! In this way, they force you to walk around the entire building even if you just want to buy a few groceries. They are overburdening the likes of you and me with so many things we just don't need. I am quite sure the outlook for that kind of store, even over the medium term, is no good at all."
彼得·欧文斯是大型联合商业坦率直言的反对者。“这太残酷了！百货公司连锁店的规模越大，他们就变得越专横，对消费者的索价就会越高，”他高声说道。很明显，他对这件事反响强烈。“百货公司还从来没有在偏僻的远郊开设如此之多的代销店，这都是早就过时的生意经了，记住我的话。看看他们现在都玩一些什么样的伎俩！最近有商家新开了一家购物中心，整个建筑是椭圆形的。想想他们为什么要这样做！这样一来，即使你本来只想买很少的一些日用品，你也不得不走完整个商场。他们使你我之类的人购买我们根本不需要的东西以加重我们的负担。我可以肯定，这种商店的前景非常不妙，甚至过不了多长时间，他们就会偃旗息鼓了。”
Once peter got going, his outrage knew no bounds. "I will tell you this outright: The overall involved in making your way to and around those labyrinths far outweigh the savings you can get from shopping there. The traditional mom-and-pop corner store will outlast this fiendish invention of the late 20th century, you will see. All right, I grant you that those chain stores absorb an awful lot of the major manufactures‘ output, but what about variety?" he asked his audience who, as usual. sat in stunned silence.
一般说来，只要彼得一激动，他的愤怒简直是无穷无尽。“让我把这件事的真相彻底告诉你吧：在这些迷宫般的商店里穿梭行走，你最后的全部花费比你在那儿买便宜东西所省下来的钱要多得多。你们将会看到，位于巷口的传统的夫妻老婆店的寿命肯定会超过这种20世纪末期穷凶极恶的发明的寿命。是的，我承认这些连锁店确实吸收了绝大多数制造商的产品，但多样性的问题怎么解决呢？”他问一旁一直默默无言的，和往常一样只充当他的听众的人。
"I have said from the outset that those huge chains will not be able to outwit the typical consumer forever. A change in consumer forever. A change in consumer purchasing pattern is long overdue, and I am afraid of the chain stores' future is heavily overcast.
“我从一开始就说这种太型连锁店肯定不会永远胜过典型传统消费方式。消费者购买模式的改变有一个长期的过程，我担心连锁店的未来非常阴暗，不容乐观。”
Words:
outlast vt. 比…长久，比…活得长
outlet n. （河流、烟等）出口，批发商店
outlook n. 1.观点，见解 2.景色 3.展望，前景
outlying adj. 边远的，偏僻的
outmoded adj. 不再流行的，过时的
output n. 输出，产品，生产量
outrage vt. 激怒，引起…义愤
outrageous adj. 蛮横的，残暴的
outright adj. 彻底的，完全的
outset n. 开始，开端
outspoken adj. 坦率直言的
outweigh vt. 比…重，比…更重要
outwit v. 比机智胜过
oval adj. 卵形的，椭圆的
overall adj. 全部的，全面的
overbearing adj. 专横的，横行霸道
overburden v. 使装戴过多，使负担过多
overcast adj. 阴天的，阴暗的
overcharge v. 索价过高
overdue adj. 迟到的，逾期的