今回のテーマのオンラインショッピングですが、私もアマゾンや楽天をよく利用します。
kakaku.comでは簡単に価格が比較できますから、商品によってはオンラインが有利です。
オフライン店舗はサポートなどのサービスで差別化するとよいのではないでしょうか。
3.実践ビジネス英語 2013/2 Lesson 22 Shopping Online and Offline 4,5,6
■前回の復習です
snare the best deal
a breed apart from
more bang for one's [the] buck
two-pronged approach
aggravate
have a few tricks up one's sleeve
conscientious
uphill battle
■意味を考えてみよう。今日取り上げる単語が含まれています
It's important to help keep smaller online retailers afloat.
Some big online retailers have been catching flak for deliberately undercutting the small fry.
It is going to be hard for them at times like this to hold their own against the big players and their lower prices.
Marketers call them "pragmatic luxuries" - special items people splurge on that add a little fun to life when the going gets rough.
They come off looking like mean, selfish bullies.
You don't have to wear sackcloth and ashes just because the economy's depressed.
The paradox is that with the profusion of product lines and the explosion in online shopping alternatives, we're spoiled for choice.
I went to my local supermarket and counted no fewer than 10 different brands of "fair-trade" espresso coffee beans.
I can use my smartphone to check consumer comments about each brand, but there are only so many minutes in the day.
More often than not, you wind up making the best choice that way.
★keep someone afloat, （人、企業など）を（経済的に）持ちこたえさせる、...を破産させない
afloat
out of debt or difficulty:
ex) Professional management will be needed to keep firms afloat.
★catch flak for, ...のために激しい非難を浴びる
flak
strong criticism:
ex) You must be strong enough to take the flak if things go wrong.
flakは、「高射砲」「対空砲」の意味です。
★undercut, （ほかの会社など）より安く売る
offer goods or services at a lower price than (a competitor):
ex) These industries have been undercut by more efficient foreign producers.
★small fry, 取るに足りない人[もの]、小物、小さな存在
fry
young fish, especially when newly hatched:
ex) I focused next on a little fish fry hiding on a bubble coral.
★hold one's own against, ...に負けない、...に引けを取らない、...に対抗する
hold one's own
retain a position of strength in a challenging situation:
ex) And I always like the challenge of trying to hold my own with a fellow competitor.
★when the going gets rough, 状況が厳しくなっている時に
going
conditions for, or progress in, an endeavor:
ex) An opportunity to get out while the going is good.
goingは、進行ぶり、作業状況、という意味です。
★come off, 印象を与える
= come acrossIt's
★wear sackcloth and ashes, （自分のしたことを）悲しんでいる[後悔して]いる
sackcloth and ashes
used with allusion to the wearing of sackcloth and having ashes sprinkled on the head as a sign of penitence or mourning (Matt 11:21):
allusion 隠喩
penitence （自分の犯した罪に対する）後悔 =repentance
ex) I'd wear sackcloth and ashes, if it would do any good.
★profusion, 豊富、多量、多数
an abundance or large quantity of something:
ex) A rich profusion of wild flowers.
★be spoiled for choices, （選択肢が多くて）選ぶのに困る（というぜいたくな状況である）
be spoilt for choice
<Brit.> have so many options that it is difficult to make a choice:
ex) There were so many good dogs there, you were spoilt for choice.
★no fewer than, そんなに多くの数の
used to emphasize a surprisingly large number:
ex) There are no fewer than seventy different brand names.
★There are only so many minutes in the day. 一日に使える時間は限られている
hoursでも可。
only so manyというフレーズは、限られた数の、という意味です。
onlyとmanyが一緒になっているので、わかりにくいです。
in a dayではなくて、in the dayであることも注意しましょう
★wind up, （結局）...になる
arrive or end up in a specified state, situation, or place:
ex) We all wind up in your situation sooner or later, and I agree - it's tough.
■もう一度読んでみよう
It's important to help keep smaller online retailers afloat.
Some big online retailers have been catching flak for deliberately undercutting the small fry.
It is going to be hard for them at times like this to hold their own against the big players and their lower prices.
Marketers call them "pragmatic luxuries" - special items people splurge on that add a little fun to life when the going gets rough.
They come off looking like mean, selfish bullies.
You don't have to wear sackcloth and ashes just because the economy's depressed.
The paradox is that with the profusion of product lines and the explosion in online shopping alternatives, we're spoiled for choice.
I went to my local supermarket and counted no fewer than 10 different brands of "fair-trade" espresso coffee beans.
I can use my smartphone to check consumer comments about each brand, but there are only so many minutes in the day.
More often than not, you wind up making the best choice that way.
■前回の復習の答えです
snare the best deal, 最良の取引をものにする、最も得な買い物をする
a breed apart from, ...と違うタイプの人、...とは別の存在
more bang for one's [the] buck, 出費以上の価値
two-pronged approach, ２方面からの方法[アプローチ]
aggravate, いらいらさせる、怒らせる
have a few tricks up one's sleeve, 秘策をいくつか持っている
conscientious, 良心的な、誠実な
uphill battle, 苦しい戦い、悪戦苦闘
