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With inflation at a 40-year high in the U.S., we're all spending more when we go to the store.[qh]
由于美国的通货膨胀达到了40年来的最高水平，因此我们在商店里都要花更多的钱。[qh]
But economics correspondent Paul Solman reports that there is another dimension of inflation these days -- shrinkflation.[qh]
但经济记者保罗·索尔曼报道称，如今还有另一个层面的通胀——缩水式通胀。[qh]
We'll let him explain. [qh]
让他来为我们解释。[qh]
So what is this? [qh]
这是什么呢?[qh]
These are some of the newer items.[qh]
这些是一些较新的商品。[qh]
In fact, items consumer advocate and lawyer Edgar Dworsky had bought in just the past week.[qh]
事实上，这些商品是消费者权益倡导者兼律师埃德加·德沃斯基上周刚买的。[qh]
The first one here is kind of an egregious example.[qh]
第一个商品有点过分。[qh]
Angel soft toilet paper used to have 425 sheets on a roll.[qh]
天使软厕纸曾经一卷有425张。[qh]
The new one has 320.[qh]
新的软厕纸只有320张。[qh]
Wow. That's 25 percent.[qh]
哇。这是减少了近25%。[qh]
But it's almost two full rolls in new sizing.[qh]
不过新尺寸的厕纸也有整整两卷。[qh]
But look at the packages.[qh]
看看这些包装。[qh]
Don't they look almost identical?[qh]
他们看起来不是一模一样吗?[qh]
Do they ever.[qh]
他们曾经是一模一样的。[qh]
And that's the key to what's being called shrinkflation, says Dworsky, who writes the online consumer world newsletter and has been tracking product downsizing for decades.[qh]
这是所谓的缩水式通胀的关键，撰写在线消费者世界时事通讯的德沃斯基说，他几十年来一直在跟踪产品的尺寸缩减。[qh]
I remember the Charmin of the 1960's when Mr. Whipple came on TV.[qh]
我还记得20世纪60年代惠普尔先生出现在电视上的Charmin卫生纸广告。[qh]
I told them, squeeze the tomatoes, squeeze the melons, but please don't squeeze the Charmin.[qh]
我告诉他们，挤压西红柿，挤压甜瓜，但请不要挤压Charmin卫生纸。[qh]
And it had 650 sheets on a roll.[qh]
这种卫生纸每卷有650张。[qh]
The biggest one today has 366. It's about 90% less.[qh]
今天最大的一卷有366张。大约减少了90%。[qh]
And it's not just toilet paper.[qh]
而且，这不仅仅是卫生纸。[qh]
Ice cream tubs used to be a half gallon, or two quarts, then one-and-three-quarters quarts.[qh]
冰激凌桶过去是半加仑或两夸脱，后来是1.75夸脱。[qh]
They've now trimmed down to a svelte one-and-a-half.[qh]
现在他们已经把尺寸缩减到1.5英寸了。[qh]
Because lately, it's been the incredible shrinking everything.[qh]
因为最近，令人难以置信的是一切尺寸都在缩小。[qh]
Shrinkflation tends to come in waves.[qh]
缩水式通货膨胀往往是一波三折的。[qh]
We happen to be in the middle of a tidal wave at the moment because of inflation.[qh]
由于通货膨胀，我们目前碰巧处于波浪的中间。[qh]
That's because material and transportation costs have been soaring since the much reported supply chain snags.[qh]
因为自大量报道供应链短缺以来，材料和运输成本一直在飙升。[qh]
How best to pass them on to us consumers?[qh]
如何最好地将其传递给我们消费者？[qh]
Manufacturers rely on both raising the price and shrinking the product.[qh]
制造商既依靠提高价格，又依靠缩小产品尺寸。[qh]
The difference is they know that consumers are price conscious and consumers will catch the fact if that container of Orange juice went from $2.99 to $3.39 and they'll balk, they'll complain, maybe they'll switch to another brand.[qh]
不同的是，他们知道消费者对价格很敏感，如果橙汁从2.99美元涨到3.39美元，消费者会意识到这一事实，他们会犹豫不决，他们会抱怨，也许他们会换成其他品牌。[qh]
But they know consumers are not net weight conscious.[qh]
但他们知道，消费者并没有意识到净重。[qh]
They're not going to notice most of them, if the product has gotten a little bit smaller.[qh]
如果产品变小了一点，他们中的大多数不会注意到。[qh]
Especially not if the shrinkage is pretty much indiscernible.[qh]
尤其是几乎看不出尺寸收缩的情况下。[qh]
What is that, dishwashing detergent?[qh]
那是什么，洗碗剂吗？[qh]
This is Dawn. The current seven ounce little bottle is now six and a half ounce.[qh]
这是Dawn牌洗碗剂。以前是7盎司小瓶子，现在变成了6.5盎司。[qh]
So you lost half-an-ounce.[qh]
所以少了半盎司。[qh]
Honest to goodness, I don't know how they did it.[qh]
老实说，我不知道他们是怎么做到的。[qh]
But just know the bottom line is, you are getting half-an-ounce less.[qh]
但最重要的是，你买到的产品会少半盎司。[qh]
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
