烫手时文，英语保鲜。
最近，关于优衣库到底贵不贵的讨论，在中国社交媒体上炸开了锅。不少月薪四千左右的朋友觉得，一条199元的牛仔裤简直是“天价”。但时尚圈的“懂王”们却说，只要会买，优衣库堪称“宝藏”，关键在于你是否读得懂它藏在标签里的“暗语”。
Recently, a debate over whether Uniqlo is expensive has exploded on Chinese social media. Many people earning around 4,000 yuan a month feel that a 199-yuan pair of jeans is "sky-high." But fashion insiders argue that Uniqlo is a "treasure trove" if you know how to shop, and the key is whether you can read the "secret code" hidden on its tags.
那么，这个秘密是什么呢？简单说，就是在优衣库，越是被大力宣传、听起来“黑科技”满满的单品，性价比可能越低。
So, what's this secret? To put it simply, at Uniqlo, the more heavily an item is promoted and the more "high-tech" it sounds, the less value for money it probably has.
就拿每年冬天都会刷屏的HEATTECH“自发热”内衣来说吧。听着很神奇，但它的“发热”原理，主要是利用一种叫“粘纤”的面料吸收人皮肤上的湿气来产生热量。这种热量是有限的，一旦面料吸湿饱和，发热效果就停止了。相比之下，传统的纯棉内衣反而更实在。
Take the HEATTECH "self-heating" underwear that goes viral every winter. It sounds magical, but its "heating" principle mainly relies on a fabric called viscose fiber to absorb moisture from your skin and generate heat. This heat is limited; once the fabric is saturated with moisture, the heating effect stops. In contrast, traditional pure cotton underwear is actually more reliable.
同理，还有轻型羽绒服和摇粒绒外套。如果你仔细对比就会发现，以同样的价格，你完全可以在别的品牌买到充绒量更高、或使用了更顶级面料（比如真正发明摇粒绒的Polartec面料）的产品。
The same logic applies to its lightweight down jackets and fleece jackets. If you compare carefully, you'll find that for the same price, you can easily buy products from other brands with more down filling or made from superior materials (like Polartec, the original inventor of fleece).
那什么才值得买？答案指向了那些在吊牌上“朴实地”标明了面料来源的单品。
So, what is worth buying? The answer points to items that "modestly" state their fabric origin on the tag.
比如优衣库299元的原色牛仔裤。你可能不知道，它使用的面料来自日本顶级的“贝原工厂”（Kaihara）。许多售价高达两三千元的顶级牛仔裤品牌，比如EVISU和NUDIE JEANS，用的也是他家的面料。这简直就是花小钱，办大事。
For example, Uniqlo's 299-yuan raw denim jeans. You might not know that their fabric comes from Japan's top-tier "Kaihara Denim" mill. Many high-end denim brands with price tags of two or three thousand yuan, like EVISU and NUDIE JEANS, use fabric from the very same mill. That's what you call getting a big win for a small price.
同样逻辑的还有美丽奴羊毛衫和SUPIMA棉T恤。这些产品都是优衣库利用其巨大的采购优势，将高端面料的价格“打了下来”。
The same logic applies to their Merino wool sweaters and SUPIMA cotton T-shirts. These are all products where Uniqlo uses its massive purchasing power to bring the price of high-end materials way down.
所以，优衣库到底是贵还是便宜？这取决于你是在为它的营销故事买单，还是在为它的优质面料买单。下次逛优衣库，先别急着看价格，翻开吊牌看看面料，那或许才是真正的藏宝图。
So, is Uniqlo expensive or cheap? It depends on whether you're paying for its marketing story or its quality materials. Next time you're in Uniqlo, don't rush to check the price tag; flip over the tag and look at the fabric first. That might be the real treasure map.
新闻词汇表
-
1. 快时尚 (Fast Fashion)：一种商业模式，指的是快速复制T台流行趋势，并以低廉的价格生产销售。 -
2. 性价比 (Value for Money)：指商品的性能、质量与其价格之间的比例关系，是衡量商品是否划算的一个指标。 -
3. 粘纤 (Viscose Fiber)：一种人造纤维，由天然的纤维素（如木材）制成，特点是吸湿性好，手感柔软。 -
4. 充绒量 (Fill Weight)：指一件羽绒服中填充的羽绒的总重量，是决定保暖性能的关键因素之一。 -
5. 赤耳牛仔布 (Selvedge Denim)：在老式梭织机上生产的一种高品质牛仔布，布边有独特的红色织线，是复古和高品质的象征。 -
6. 面料 (Fabric)：也叫布料，是制作服装的材料。
阅读与应用指南
本文围绕优衣库的消费策略展开，探讨了性价比、品牌营销与消费者认知等主题，是一份理想的商业观察类英语时文阅读材料。
对于学生: 这篇文章是积累商业和消费主题词汇的绝佳素材。文中的对比论证手法，可以运用到你的英语议论文写作中，比如在讨论“广告与现实”或“如何聪明消费”等话题时，优衣库的例子能让你的文章言之有物。
对于家长: 这篇文章提供了一个与孩子探讨“消费观”的有趣切口。可以引导孩子思考，我们购买的究竟是商品本身，还是品牌的故事？每天一篇，不仅能提升孩子的英语阅读能力，更能培养他们审慎、理性的消费习惯。
对于教师: 这份材料可作为一堂生动的英语阅读或口语讨论课的即用资源。你可以引导学生讨论“Fast Fashion”的利弊，或组织一场关于“品牌价值vs材料价值”的辩论赛，有效激发学生的参与感和思辨能力。
实战翻译擂台
在优衣库，越是大力宣传推广的单品，就越是“没有性价比”。这句话里的“没有性价比”最贴切的英文翻译是？
A. has no price and no performance
B. is the less value for money it has
C. is not worth a single penny
D. has no price-to-performance ratio
