為什么美國人的午餐更貴

甘肅天水市第三中學 趙 斌

From the summer of 2020，Pret A Manger，a provider of sandwiches to desk-workers in the white-collar cities of the West，has been adding lobster rolls to its menu．In Britain they each cost ￡5．99；in America$9．99．In both countries they are filled with lobsters．Rent and labour cost about the same in London as in downtown New York or Boston．Yet a Pret lobster roll in America is pricier than in Britain，even though the lobster comes from nearer by．

This Pret price gap is not limited to lobster rolls．According to the data gathered by The Economist on the dozen Pret sandwiches that are most similar in the two countries，the American ones cost on average 74% more．An egg sandwich in New York costs$4．99 to London's ￡1．79，more than double．

Menu pricing starts with a simple rule，says John Buchanan of the consulting arm of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises，a restaurant group：take the cost of ingredients and multiply it by three．Then ask yourself how much customers would expect to pay for a dish of this type．A Pret lobster roll and one from a fancy seafood restaurant are quite different things．Lastly，check what the competition charges．“Only a small part of this decision is what I would call scientific，” says Mr Buchanan．“A lot has to do with a subjective judgment of what the market will bear．”

The lunch market is local．New Yorkers do not care about prices in London．And they—alongside Bostonians and Washingtonians—are used to their local high prices．Londoners are keener on sandwich lunches，which means severer competition in that part of the market.

Often lunch prices vary by neighbourhood．They also vary by time：many restaurants charge more for dinner than for lunch．Understanding of value for money is relative but not absolute．For Pret's lobster rolls，it's a case of claws（爪） and effect．

Reading Check

1．What's Mr Buchanan's attitude to the rule of menu pricing?

A．It's reasonable．

B．It's understandable．

C．Most of it is unscientific．

D．Most people ignore its function．

2．What do we know about Londoners from the last but one paragraph?

A．They like to have sandwiches for lunch．

B．They do not care about local high prices．

C．They always have subjective judgment．

D．They are more competitive than New Yorkers．

3．According to the last paragraph，the author thinks lunch prices _______．

A．have its own rule

B．should be the same

C．will be improved in future

D．are decided by many factors

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Londoners are keener on sandwich lunches，which means severer competition in that part of the market．

【翻譯】_____________________________________________________________________________

【點石成金】主句是主系表結構，on sandwich lunches是介賓短語作狀語；which means severer competition in that part of the market是非限制性定語從句，先行詞是前面整個主句。