[영자신문읽기][경제공부] 똑같은 랍스터 샌드위치가 영국보다 미국에서 더 비싼 이유는 뭘까?

안녕하세요. 고라소니의 영어로 경제보기 코너입니다.

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오늘은 09/07/2019 자 The Economist지의 경제 기사를 살펴볼텐데요.

괜찮은 영어 표현들은 밑줄을 쳐놨고,

특이한 영어 표현은 파란 배경색과 기울임꼴을 적용하였습니다.

또한 어려운 영어 단어들은 노란 배경색을 부여하고 해석을 달아놨습니다.

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Consider the lobster roll

Why Americans pay more for lunch than Britons do

Even when they are buying the same sandwich

THIS SUMMER Pret A Manger, purveyor of sandwiches to desk-workers in the white-collar cities of the West, added lobster rolls to its menu. In Britain they cost £5.99 ($7.31); in America $9.99. In both countries they are filled with lobster from Maine, along with cucumber, mayonnaise and more. Rent and labour cost about the same in London as in downtown New York or Boston. Neither sticker price includes sales tax. Yet a Pret lobster roll in America is a third pricier than in Britain, even though the lobster comes from nearer by.

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■ 고라소니와 영어 표현 익히기

○ purveyor : 조달 업자, 공급 업자

○ Pricer : 비싸다

○A third pricer : 1/3이 더 비싸다.

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This Pret price gap is not limited to lobster rolls. According to 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 (see chart). An egg sandwich in New York costs $4.99 to London’s £1.79, more than double. A tuna baguette costs two-thirds more. The price mismatch is intriguing—the more so for The Economist, which publishes the Big Mac index, a cross-country comparison of burger prices, which shows a 43% transatlantic disparity.

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 by three. Then ask yourself how much customers would expect to pay for a dish of this type, and how much they would expect to pay for it from you. A Pret lobster roll and one from a fancy seafood restaurant are quite different propositions. 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.”

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■ 고라소니와 영어 표현 익히기

○ Consulting arm: 컨설팅 회사

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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, for reasons that include bigger portions (though not at Pret) and tipping habits. Londoners are keener on sandwich lunches, which means stiffer competition in that part of the market.

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■ 고라소니와 영어 표현 익히기

○ keener: 더 날카롭다. 예리하다.

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Often lunch prices vary by neighbourhood. JD Wetherspoon, a British pub chain, prides itself on low prices, but allows them to differ by branch. In 2017 the Financial Times found that the most expensive Spoons charged over 40% more than the cheapest one. They also vary by time: many restaurants charge more for dinner than for lunch. Perceptions of value for money are relative not absolute. For Pret’s lobster rolls, it’s a case of claws and effect.■

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■ 고라소니와 영어 표현 익히기

○ Spoon: 식당

○ Claws and Effect : Claws는 발톱이라는 뜻이고 Effect는 결과라는 뜻이다.

★※ Cause and effect는 들어봤어도 Claws and Effect은 처음 본다! 이게 무슨 뜻일까?

★Claws and Effect는 2002년에 Rita Mae Brown 이라는 사람이 시리즈로 발행 시작한 책이다.

내 생각으로는 고양이가 발톱으로 할퀸 결과라는 문학적 표현인 것 같다. 할퀴면 할퀸대로 효과가 나타날 거 아닌가.

여기서는 미국인들이 영국인들보다 가격에 둔하게 반응하니까 그만큼 미국에서 똑같은 샌드위치가 비싸게 팔린다는 것 같다.

 

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This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Consider the lobster roll"

 

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/09/07/why-americans-pay-more-for-lunch-than-britons-do

Why Americans pay more for lunch than Britons do