在展示廳里，一位華籍陶瓷制造商正和美國進口商談話。
Importer: What beautiful art ceramics you make.
你們制作的陶瓷作品真美。
Manufacturer: I learned the craft from my father. Then I studied ceramic
engineering at school.
我跟我父親學習陶藝。然后我又在學校攻讀陶瓷工程學。
Importer: All your hard work looks as if it's paid off.
看來你的心血沒有白費。
Manufacturer: Yes, I have 50 employees. I hope to become the biggest exporter
of ceramics in Taiwan.
沒錯，我現在擁有五十名員工。我希望能成為臺灣最大的陶瓷出口商。
Importer: Well, the demand for ceramics is increasing in my
country.
我們國內對陶瓷的需求量愈來愈大。
Manufacturer: Yes, a large proportion of our sales are to the
U.S.
是的，我們大部分產品銷往美國。
Importer: The development of ceramics in your country has been remarkable.
You carry on a centuries-old tradition and keep pace with modern technology at
the same time.
貴國陶瓷業的發展的確不同凡響。你們延續了古老的傳統，同時又與現代科技一同進步。
Manufacturer: Yes, our research in the field has been yielding good results.
And we're deeply grateful to your country's technicians for their considerable
assistance.
是的，在這方面的研究已有了不錯的成果。也很感激貴國技術人員的協助。
Importer: Tell me about your designs.
給我介紹一下你們的設計好嗎。
Manufacturer: How do you like this one?
您覺得這個如何?
Importer: It's beautiful.
很美。
Manufacturer: This is an eight-foot decorative vase. It's hand-made and the
inlaid designs are etched in. It takes 45 days to make. Its retail price will be
US$3,000.
這是個八尺高的裝飾花瓶。完全手工制造，而且雕刻部分設計采用蝕鏤法刻入。制造過程耗時四十五天，零售價為三千美元。
Importer: The result is certainly worth the effort. How about this design
over here?
這樣的成品確實值得這番功夫。這個式樣呢?
Manufacturer: This vase is still in the experimental stage.
這個花瓶還在實驗階段。
Importer: Why is that?
為什么?
Manufacturer: It's quite expensive to make and because of its small size,
buyers balk at its high price. We feel we could sell more if we could reduce the
price.
這個式樣的制造成本相當高，而且因為體積小，顧客看到這樣高的價錢就裹足不前。我們想如果售價降低，將能賣出更多。
Importer: Well, you mustn't tamper with quality. It's the high quality of
Chinese ceramics that attracts American
buyers.
嗯，你可不能在質量上動手腳。美國的顧客就是看上了中國陶瓷的高質量。
Manufacturer: That's why a reduction in price can never be made at the
expense of quality.
正因為如此，降低價格的同時，并不能以犧牲質量為代價。
Importer: Well, thank you for showing me your beautiful ceramic ware. I was
so impressed by your designs and the high quality of your
pieces.
嗯，謝謝你為我展示這些美麗的陶藝品。你們的設計和產品質量讓我印象深刻。
（來源：SOHU教育 英語點津 Annabel 編輯）
