英语短文：漂亮的名牌标志给人以混淆的信息

　　High-end goods with recognizable logos may signal to the less affluent that you have some money, but also to the wealthy that you're not one of them

　　Some people pay big bucks for a designer handbag or a luxury car—and the distinctive logo that goes along with them. Now scientists have learned that other people pay even more to leave the logo behind. The findings appear in the Journal of Marketing.

　　High-end goods are often ostentatiously labeled. After all, if you spend all that money on a status symbol, you want to make sure that other folks recognize your good taste, even at a distance. But researchers surveying California consumers found that people who are seriously well-off are willing to pay a premium for items whose branding is more discreet.

　　These patricians don’t need gaudy symbols to advertise their wealth. Status seekers, on the other hand, are drawn to more obvious logos. These designer items let the less affluent know that they’ve been outclassed. The irony is that the logos mostly serve to alert the patricians that the owner is not one of them. And then there are the posers who buy flashy counterfeit items that for the most part don’t fool anyone.

　　The lesson for marketers: when it comes to branding, less may be more. And you can charge a higher price for it, too.

　　【词汇解释】

　　1.ostentatiously adv.夸耀地

　　2.patricians 贵族

　　3.gaudy adj.俗丽的 n.（英）盛大宴会（尤指大学年会）

　　He dislikes gaudy decorations.

　　他不喜欢俗丽的装饰。

　　These are cheap and gaudy clothes.

　　这是些廉价而花哨的衣服。

　　4.counterfeit n.伪造品,膺品 adj.假冒的,假装的` v.仿造,假装,伪装

　　This note is counterfeit, but that one's good.

　　这张钞票是假的，那张是真的。