礼节美语 133 Piracy 1

Carl下课，看到室友Benny买东西刚回来，好象很兴奋。

Benny: Hey Carl! Check this out! I just picked up three brand-new Hollywood movies...they haven't even been released in theaters yet!

Carl: Um...you mean they're counterfeit copies?

B: Sure! They only cost a couple of bucks each!

C: Yeah, but...they're illegal copies.

B: So? What's the problem?

C: I just don't think it's right to buy pirated goods. I don't want to sound too judgmental, but I think it's wrong.

Benny兴奋地叫 Carl，Check this out!快来看。原来，Benny买了三张盗版影碟，都是尚未发行的好莱坞大片。盗版可以说counterfeit goods, 也可以说pirated goods. 盗版碟很便宜，每张只要a couple of bucks两美元。Carl说，I don't want to sound too judgmental, judgmental is spelled j-u-d-g-m-e-n-t-a-l, 意思是对别人妄加评论，但Carl还是要说，买盗版碟不对。

B: But Carl, those Hollywood film companies make millions and millions of dollars! It's not like I'm hurting some poor kid in Africa. These guys are billionaires.

C: Yes, that's true. But there's a simple rule to find out if something is wrong or not: Ask yourself, "What would happen if everyone did what you are doing?"

B: Well, if everyone bought pirated copies, no one would buy originals.

C: And if that happened the movie companies would go bankrupt and you'd never be able to enjoy cool new films, right?

B: I guess so.

Benny觉得，自己买盗版，受损失的只是那些身价数十亿美元的好莱坞制片公司，所以没什么了不起。Carl让 Benny想想，如果大家都象他一样买盗版，会是什么结果。Benny承认，那就没人买正品了。正品叫original, original is spelled o-r-i-g-i-n-a-l, original. 没人买正品，制片公司就会go bankrupt破产，那就没电影看了。Carl还说,

C: Also, think about the initial investment. When a drug company makes a new medicine, it takes years to test it before they can sell it. If we buy the fake version, the drug company might not have the money to test some newer medicine. Movies are a big investment, too.

B: But the prices they charge are insane! I could buy 35 pirated DVDs for the price of one original!

C: Actually, I agree with you there. The movie studios do need to reduce their prices to something more reasonable. But that doesn't change the fact that it's still stealing.

Carl提醒说，拍电影跟开发新药一样，需要大笔投资，这一点也不能忘。Benny争辩说，可正版影碟实在是太贵了。The prices are insane. Carl在这一点上同意Benny的看法，觉得制片公司需要把价格降低到更合理的价位，to reduce their prices to something more reasonable. 但他坚持说，这改变不了买盗版就是盗取的事实。Carl是否能够说服 Benny 以后不再买盗版，我们下次继续听。