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ChapterFiveCounterOfferIntroduction•Acounterofferismadewhenaprospectivebuyerfindsthetermsandconditionsintheofferunacceptableorasanattempttogainmorefavorableterms.Acounterofferisvirtuallyapartialrejectionoftheoriginalofferandalsoacounterproposalinitiatedbythebuyerortheofferee.•Thebuyermayshowdisagreementtotheprice,orpacking,orshipment,andstatehisownideainstead.•Suchalternations,nomatterhowslighttheymayappeartobe,signifythatbusinesshastobenegotiatedontherenewedbasis,theoriginalofferorthesellernowbecomestheoffereeandhehasthefullrightofacceptanceorrefusal.•Whenabuyerrejectsanoffer,heshould•1.thankthesellerforhisoffer•2.expressregretatinabilitytoaccept•3.statereasonsfornon-acceptance•4.makeacounterofferif,inthecircumstance,itisappropriate•5.saythattheremaybeotheropportunitiestoco-operate.Inmakingacounteroffer,onehastostatethetermsmostexplicitly(ad.明白地;明确地)andusewordsverycarefullysoastoavoidambiguity(n.模棱两可的话;含糊话Thedisputeresultedfromambiguitiesinthecontract.)ormisunderstanding,thesamewayasoneusuallydoesinmakinganoffer.SampleDialogues•Dialogue1•Smith：Wethinkyourofferistoohighinthemarketofourcountry．Lee：Iagreewithyou，butourofferisreallythebestwecando．•Smith：Doyouinsistonyourprice?Lee：Well，what’syourcounteroffer?Smith：Wewouldliketomakeacounteroffertoyouof$1.5permeter．Lee：Iamafraidit’stoolow．Smith：Thenhowabout$1.67.Lee：Sorry，it’snotpossible，weneedatleast$1.8．Smith：OK，letmecallmybosstoseeifthatwilldo．Smith：Yourpriceishigherthanothercompanies，ImafraidIdon’tfindyourpriceverycompetitive．Lee：Butconsideringthehighqualityofourproduct，ourpriceisveryreasonable．Smith：Couldyougoalittlelower?Youknowourquantityisnotsmall，andwecanorderrightnow．Lee：Howaboutmeetingeachotherhalfway?$1.7permeter,thereisreallynoprofitnow．Smith：OK，that’sadeal!Lee：Good，howaboutacoffeebreak?Thenwecantalkaboutthepackage．Smith：Greatidea!•Dialogue2•A:Thisisourrock-bottomprice,Mr.Li.Wecan’tmakeanyfurtherconcessions.•B:Inthatcase,thereisnotmuchpointinfurtherdiscussion.Wemightaswellcallthewholedealoff.•A:WhatImeanisthatwe’llneverbeabletocomedowntoyourprice.Thegapistoogreat.•B:Ithinkitunwiseforeitherofustoinsistonhisownprice.Howaboutmeetingeachotherhalfwayandeachmakesafurtherconcessionsothatbusinesscanbeconcluded?•A:Whatisyourproposal?•B:Yourunitpriceis100dollarshigherthanwecanaccept.WhatIsuggestedwemeeteachotherhalfway.Imeetitliterally.•A:Doyoumeantosuggestthatwehavetomakeafurtherreductionof50dollarsinourprice?That’simpossible!•B:Whatwouldyousuggest?•A:Thebestwecandowillbeareductionofanother30dollars.Thatwilldefinitelyberock-bottom.•B:Thatstillleavesagapof20dollarstobecovered.Let’smeeteachotherhalfwayoncemore,thenthegapwillbeclosedandourbusinesscompleted.•A:Youcertainlyhaveawayoftalkingmeintoit.Alright,let’smeethalfwayagain.•B:I’mgladwe’vecometoanagreementonprice.We’llgoontotheothertermsandconditionsatournextmeeting.WritingSkills–Received,Thanks–Disagreesomeofthepoints–Amendmentsandimprovementswithnewrequirements–Reasonsforamendments–Waitingforconfirmation–ContactinformationSpecimenLettersLetterOneDearSirs,WeacknowledgereceiptofbothyourofferofMay5andthesamplesofMen’sShirts,andthankyouforthese.Whileappreciatingthegoodqualityofyourshirts,wefindyourpriceisrathertoohighforthemarketwewishtosupply.WehavealsotopointoutthattheMen’sShirtsareavailableinourmarketfromseveralEuropeanmanufacturers,allofwhichareatpricesfrom15%to20%belowyours.Suchbeingthecase,wehavetoaskyoutoconsiderifyoucanmakereductioninyourprice,say10%.AsourorderwouldbewortharoundStg.50000,youmaythinkitworthwhiletomakeaconcession.Weawaitwithkeeninterestyourimmediatereply.Yoursfaithfully,1.decrease,reduce最常见的两个词。可指数量、质量、能量、长度、面积、体积、时间、速率、强度等的减少。Thesunspots太阳的黑点increaseanddecreaseastheyearsgoon.Wecanreducefrictionwhereitisundesirable,andincreaseitwhereitisneeded.decrease泛指“减少”这一现象；当表示“从某一水平减到另一水平”，或“减到原来水平”时，一般用reduceTheBritishgovernmentannouncedinMay1981toreducethemaximumleadcontent含量topetrolfrom0.40g/litreto0.15g/litre.Calorierequirementsdecreasewithadvancingyears.2.diminish指明显的逐步减少，但并不完全消失。Duringevaporation,thevolumeofliquiddiminishes.3.shorten,curtail都指长度或时间的减少，常译“缩短”。curtail常指人为地缩减时间、长度或大小，从而造成不良的后果。Thedaysarebeginningtoshorten,e.g.(forexample,forinstance)inautumn.Theywanttoshortenthetimeittakestomakethecar.Wemusttrytocurtailourspending.4.contract,shrink,deflate,constrictcontract指外界条件的变化引起长度、面积或体积缩小。shrink指自然条件或外界条件引起的面积和体积的缩小。deflate指气体漏出后体积的缩小。constrict指孔径、直径的缩小。“Iwill”canbecontractedto“I’ll”.Willthisshirtshrinkinthewash?Thehotwatershrinkmypullover.Theleakingtyrewillslowlydeflate.atightcollarthatconstrictstheneck.5.lessen,dwindle指数量的减少，dwindle指数量一直减少下去，直至没有为止。Thepainwasalreadylessening.Thenumberoftigersintheworldisdwindlingrapidlyandtheanimalmayonedaybecomeextinct.***worth1.(pred.)adj.2.worth+ing3.n.Ourhouseisworthabout$500000.Thebookisworthreading.Itisanideathat’sworthconsidering.**Theschemeiswellworthatry.Makingyourownbeer?Itisnotworththesweat!Thethievesstole$1millionworthofjewellery.worthit–certainorverylikelytorepaythemoney,effortortimegivenThenewcarcostsalotofmoney,butitiscertainlyworthit.worthy1