Sleepless in Seattle 西雅圖夜未眠（精講之一）
[ 2006-06-26 11:44 ]
影片對白 Am I what they
had in mind?
考考你 小試牛刀
文化面面觀
What is a Pyramid
Scheme?
 Pyramid schemes now come in so many forms that
they may be difficult to recognize immediately. However, they all share one
overriding characteristic. They promise consumers or investors large profits
based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits
from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public. Some schemes may
purport to sell a product, but they often simply use the product to hide their
pyramid structure. Pyramid
Scheme就是我們漢語中說的傳銷。沒有人能從中賺到錢，除了背后的組織者。在此部電影中Annie的舅舅就是因為這個而被抓了。
There are
two tell-tale signs that a product is simply being used to disguise a pyramid
scheme: inventory loading and a lack of retail sales. Inventory loading occurs
when a company's incentive program forces recruits to buy more products than
they could ever sell, often at inflated prices. If this occurs throughout the
company's distribution system, the people at the top of the pyramid reap
substantial profits, even though little or no product moves to market. The
people at the bottom make excessive payments for inventory that simply
accumulates in their basements. A lack of retail sales is also a red flag that a
pyramid exists. Many pyramid schemes will claim that their product is selling
like hot cakes. However, on closer examination, the sales occur only between
people inside the pyramid structure or to new recruits joining the structure,
not to consumers out in the general public.
Pyramids are quite seductive
because they may be able to deliver a high rate of return to a few early
investors for a short period of time. Yet pyramid is illegal because they
inevitably must fall apart.
傳銷最終都是以失敗告終的，因為它不可能永無止境的接收新會員，而一旦計劃失敗，很多會員，也就是處在金字塔最底層的人就會損失掉很多錢，甚至會是傾家蕩產。
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