Upper-Intermediate - A Place for the Rejects (D2404)

A: 走过路过,不要错过……耐克的T恤只要50元了哦!
zǒuguò lùguò, bù yào cuòguò…… nàikè de Txù zhǐyào wǔshí yuán le ò!
Cross the road. Don't miss it... Mike's t-shirt's only 50 yuan!
B: 你看那个人,怎么那么眼熟。
nǐ kàn nà ge rén, zěnme nàme yǎnshú.
Look at that guy. He looks so familiar.
C: 咦?那不是你老家的邻居唐……唐什么来着?哎呀,一下子想不起来了。
yí? nà bù shì nǐ lǎojiā de línjū táng…… táng shénme láizhe? āiyā, yīxiàzi xiǎngbuqǐlai le.
Hey? Isn't that Tang, your neighbor from your hometown? Tang something? Jeez, all of a sudden I can't remember.
B: 唐果!
tángguǒ!
Tang Guo!
C: 没错没错!就是他!看来现在跑到城里来做服装生意了。两年不见,都发福了。咱们过去跟他打个招呼吧!顺便看看有没有喜欢的衣服。
méicuò méicuò! jiùshì tā! kànlai xiànzài pǎodào chénglǐ lái zuò fúzhuāng shēngyì le. liǎng nián bùjiàn, dōu fāfú le. zánmen guòqù gēn tā dǎ gè zhāohu ba! shùnbiàn kànkan yǒu meiyǒu xǐhuan de yīfu.
That's right! That's him! It looks like now he's come to the city to sell clothes. I haven't seen him in just two years and he's already eating well. Let's go over there and say hello! While we're at it, we can look and see whether or not we like any of the clothes.
B: 唐果!
tángguǒ!
Tang Guo!
A: 哟!是张哥啊,这么巧!
yō! shì zhānggē ā, zhème qiǎo!
Huh? It's Brother Zhang! What a coincidence!
B: 是啊!刚差点儿没认出来!你啥时候来上海的?生意不错嘛!
shì a! gāng chàdiǎnr méi rènchūlai! nǐ shá shíhou lái Shànghǎi de? shēngyì bùcuò ma!
Yeah! I almost didn't recognize you! When did you come to Shanghai? Your business isn't bad!
A: 还凑合吧。混口饭吃呗。来来来,张嫂看看有没有喜欢的,拿件穿吧!
hái còuhe ba. hùnkǒufànchī bēi. láiláilái, zhāngsǎo kànkan yǒu méiyǒu xǐhuan de, ná jiàn chuān ba!
It's not bad. It's enough to get by. Come, come, come! Cousin Zhang see whether you like anything or not. Pick out something and try it on!
C: 哇!古奇、LV、香奈尔、巴宝莉、普拉达。。。全是国际大牌啊!这是真的吗?
wā! gǔqí、 LV、 Xiāngnàiěr、 bābǎolì、 pǔlādá... quán shì guójì dàpái ā! zhè shì zhēnde ma?
Whoa! Gucci, LV, Chanel, Burberry, Prada... They're all big international brands. Are they real?
B: 这些都是A货吧?
zhèxiē dōu shì Ahuò ba?
These are all rejected merchandise, right?
C: 就是假的喽?可是看上去这些衣服质量和做工都很好啊,好像分不出真假嘛。应该是真的吧!
jiùshì jiǎde lou? kěshì kànshangqu zhèxiē yīfu zhìliàng hé zuògōng dōu hěn hǎo ā, hǎoxiàng fēnbùchū zhēnjiǎ ma. yīnggāi shì zhēnde ba!
They're fakes? But the quality and craftsmanship of these clothes are all really good. It's like I can't tell the real one and the fake one apart. They should be real.
A: 嘘!张哥说的没错,这些的确是A货。不仔细看的话是看不出有什么两样的。A货从材料、设计、缝纫等都和正品是一样的。不过,它们多少都是有瑕疵的。比如纽扣不对称、商标装错等。按照规定,这些服装都该被销毁的,但是,服装厂里有些人把这些残次品偷偷卖了。A货服装一是价钱便宜、二是款式新、三是质量好、四是有品牌,所以在低端市场很好卖。
xū! zhānggē shuōde méicuò, zhèxiē díquè shì Ahuò. bù zǐxì kàn dehuà shì kànbùchū yǒu shénme liǎngyàng de. Ahuò cóng cáiliào、 shèjì、 féngrèn děng dōu hé zhèngpǐn shì yīyàng de. bùguò, tāmen duōshǎo dōu shì yǒu xiácī de. bǐrú niǔkòu bù duìchèn、 shāngbiāo zhuāngcuò děng. ànzhào guīdìng, zhèxiē fúzhuāng dōu gāi bèi xiāohuǐ de, dànshì, fúzhuāngchǎng lǐ yǒuxiē rén bǎ zhèxiē cáncìpǐn tōutōu mài le. Ahuò fúzhuāng yī shì jiàqian piányi、 èr shì kuǎnshì xīn、 sān shì zhìliàng hǎo、 sì shì yǒu pǐnpái, suǒyǐ zài dīduān shìchǎng hěn hǎo mài.
Shh! What Brother Zhang said is true. These are actually rejected merchandise. If you don't look carefully, then you can't see the difference. Rejected merchandise is the same as genuine merchandise in terms of materials, design and sewing. However, they all have some small imperfections. For instance, the buttons aren't symmetric or the labels are incorrect. According to regulations, these clothes should all be destroyed, but there are some people in clothing factories who sneak these defective goods out and sell them. Rejected merchandise are one, cheap; two, the newest style; three, good quality; and four, branded. So they're good to sell in low-end markets.
B: 你小子胆子真大啊!
nǐ xiǎozi dǎnzi zhēn dà ā!
You've got quite a lot of guts!
C: 老公,看,这件我穿怎么样?
lǎogōng, kàn, zhè jiàn wǒ chuān zěnmeyàng?
Honey, look, how do I look in this?

Key Vocabulary

眼熟 yǎnshú to look familiar
发福 fāfú to get fatter
qiǎo coincidental
凑合 còuhe to make do
hùn to mix
大牌 dàpái big brand
A货 Ahuò high quality fake; rejected genuine goods
做工 zuògōng to do work
两样 liǎngyàng two kinds
材料 cáiliào materials
缝纫 féngrèn stitching, tailoring
正品 zhèngpǐn certified goods
瑕疵 xiácī flaw
纽扣 niǔkòu button
对称 duìchèn to match
商标 shāngbiāo tag (on a piece of clothing, product, etc.)
销毁 xiāohuǐ to destroy
残次品 cáncìpǐn defective good
低端 dīduān low-end
胆子 dǎnzi courage, guts

Supplementary Vocabulary

眼生 yǎnshēng strange, unfamiliar
福气 fúqi good fortune
谦虚 qiānxū humble
消灭 xiāomiè to exterminate
毁掉 huǐdiào to destroy
高端 gāoduān high end

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