Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to a Moscow supermarket, instructing startled managers to lower their prices, the press reported.
The visit appeared to be the latest in a series of media stunts by Russia’s strongman to show the public that the government is in control of a financial crisis that still shows no sign of easing.
Putin broke off a formal meeting on the retail trade at his offices to take the participants to a nearby branch of the Perekrestok supermarket, one of Russia’s biggest retail chains.
Striding around the aisles with top managers from the company and food producers in tow, Putin asked why the selling prices of goods were often so much higher than the producer price.
“Why do your sausages cost 240 rubles (US$7.5)? Is that normal?” Putin asked, according to the Kommersant daily.
“But these are high quality sausages,” replied the managing director of corporate relations for the X5 Retail Group that owns Perekrestok, Yuri Kobaladze. “Look, these ones are just 49 rubles.”
“Too expensive,” retorted Putin.
“No...,” said Kobaladze, who is a former head of the public relations department of foreign intelligence.
“I can show you your mark-up,” replied Putin, brandishing a piece of paper and seemingly uninterested in the whys and wherefores.
“Look at this kind of sausage, your mark-up is 52 percent!”
Worse was to come when the prime minister moved on to a cabinet with pork products, where Putin objected that the supermarket had more than doubled the original price of the goods.
“This is twice as much. Is this normal? It’s very high,” said Putin.
“Tomorrow we will cut the price,” promised Kobaladze.
Back at the meeting at the government offices, Putin said a better balance had to be found between producers, retailers and consumers in the industry.
“Only then can we achieve social fairness,” he said according to Interfax.(AFP)
俄國媒體報導，俄國總理弗拉基米爾．普廷日前出奇不意地造訪莫斯科的一家超市，並指示措手不及的經理降低他們的商品售價。
這次造訪似乎是這位俄國獨裁領袖最近頻頻搏版面的動作之一，企圖讓民眾知道政府正在為了這波仍不見好轉的金融海嘯努力。
普廷中止了一場在他辦公室舉行的零售業正式座談會，將行程改至視察附近的Perekrestok連鎖超市；Perekrestok超市是俄國最大的連鎖零售業之一。
普廷和該店高階主管和食物供應商一起巡視店內商品時，詢問為何商品的售價往往比供應商的價格高出這麼多。
俄國《工商日報》報導，普廷問：「為甚麼你們的香腸要價兩百四十盧布（美金七塊五）？這個價格合理嗎？」
Perekrestok超市所屬的X5零售集團事業關係部總經理尤里．寇巴拉茲回答：「這些香腸比較高級。」
普廷駁斥：「太貴了。」
曾任外國情報部公關主任的寇巴拉茲說：「不…。」
普廷揮著手上的一張紙，對他的解釋興趣缺缺地說：「我手上有你們的漲價的紀錄。」
「光是這種香腸你們就漲了五成二！」
當普廷走向豬肉櫃台時，他更抨擊該超市的豬肉價格高出進貨價的兩倍。
普廷說：「這是雙倍的價格。這樣合理嗎？這個價格太高了。」
寇巴拉茲允諾：「我們明天就會降價。」
普廷回到政府辦公室開會時表示，我們必須在生產商、零售業和消費者間，找到一個更合理的平衡點。
據俄國電通社報導，他說：「唯有如此，我們才能實現社會公平。」（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
In today’s digital age, every click and swipe generates data, and the need for reliable and efficient data management has become critical. This is where data centers come into play. Data centers include servers, storage drives, networking equipment, and other hardware to manage, process, and store vast amounts of digital information. __1__ For that reason, some companies are pursuing an unusual idea: placing data centers under the surface of the ocean. What makes underwater data centers cheaper than traditional land-based ones? For one thing, the cool temperature of the ocean means that companies can cut down on the high cost of
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1. 我不夠快。 ˇ I wasn’t fast enough. χ I wasn’t enough fast. 註：enough用作副詞時，一般放在它修飾的形容詞或其他副詞後面。例如： The tea is hot enough.（茶是夠熱。） He did not work hard enough.（他不夠用功。） 但enough用作形容詞時，前置或後置都可以。例如： There is enough food (/food enough) for us. 2. 今晚七時我們將開董事會。 ˇ We are having a board meeting at seven o’clock this evening. ˇ We are having a board meeting this evening, at seven o’clock. χ We are having a board meeting this evening at seven o’clock. 註：如果有多個時間副詞，一般單位大的放在單位小的後面。例如： I was born in May 1939. The meeting was held at five o’clock yesterday afternoon. 但如果大的單位是說話者強調的重點，則可以放在前面，但後面要有逗號，表示停頓。例如： He arrived yesterday afternoon, at about five o’clock. 3. 我生於麻州波士頓。 ˇ I was born in Boston, Massachusetts. χ I was born in Massachusetts, Boston. 註：一般而言，地點副詞的位置，範圍大的放在範圍小的後面。例如： Before
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