When firms raise prices, “gouging” their customers, many governments complain. Some cannot resist intervening. But in today’s China, the opposite is happening. In May the state reprimanded carmakers not for raising prices, but for cutting them.当企业提价、“剥削”消费者时，许多政府会表示不满，有些甚至难以抵挡干预的冲动。然而，在当今中国，情况正好相反。今年5月，国家有关部门对汽车制造商提出批评的原因并非涨价，而是降价。
gouge 作动词，本义是：to cut or force something out roughly or brutally “用力挖出，刮出，凿出”，如
He accidentally gouged a hole in the wall. 他不小心在墙上挖了个洞。
在经济场景中，gouge 引申为：to overcharge or swindle customers “敲诈价格，漫天要价，宰客”，就像从顾客身上狠狠挖下一块肉。在文中when firms raise prices, ‘gouging’ their customers意思是：当公司涨价，狠宰顾客时。再看几个例句：
The street vendor tried to gouge tourists during the holiday season. 节假日期间，小摊贩试图对游客狠宰一笔。
Some private hospitals have been accused of gouging patients for unnecessary treatments. 一些私立医院被指责对病人进行不必要的治疗以狠赚费用。
Feminist groups accuse host clubs of exploitation: overcharging for drinks and manipulating clients into racking up huge tabs.女权组织指责陪酒俱乐部存在剥削行为：过度收取酒水费用，诱导客户过度消费。
Which industries are most involutionary? According to Zhao Wei of Shenwan Hongyuan, a Chinese securities firm, the problem most severely afflicts electrical machinery, steelmaking and non-metallic mineral products, such as cement, ceramics and glass, where prices fell faster than the national average last year. As well as rebuking carmakers for giving customers too good a deal, it has told the solar-panel industry to exercise “self-discipline”. At the end of last year, 33 panelmakers duly pledged to set a ceiling on production and a floor under prices. The government has also tried to prevent the “blind expansion” of steelmaking by insisting on the “three don’ts”...哪些行业最为内卷？据中国证券公司申万宏源的赵威分析，这一问题在电气机械、钢铁制造以及非金属矿产品（如水泥、陶瓷和玻璃）领域尤为突出，去年这些行业价格下跌幅度超过全国平均水平。在批评汽车制造商“给消费者过多优惠”的同时，国家还要求光伏行业“加强自律”。去年年底，33家光伏企业承诺将设定产量上限和价格下限。政府还通过强调“三个不得”，力图遏制钢铁行业的“盲目扩张”。
The delivery industry in some cities has become involutionary, with riders working longer hours for the same pay. 一些城市的外卖行业已经出现内卷，骑手工作时间更长，但收入并没有增加。
afflict表示“折磨，使痛苦”，常用于表示疾病、困境或问题带来的长期痛苦或负担。例如：
Back pain often afflicts office workers who sit for long hours. 久坐的上班族常被背痛折磨。
《权力的游戏》第7季中出现过它的名词affliction，指“折磨、折磨人的事、疾病”：metallic源自metal (金属)，意思是“金属的，含金属的”，文中non-metallic mineral products指 非金属矿物制品，如水泥、陶瓷、玻璃等。too good a deal 表示“过于优惠的交易、太大的优惠”，文中giving customers too good a deal也可以说：
The student duly submitted his assignment before the deadline. 学生按时提交了作业。
The payment was duly received. 款项已如期收到。
set a ceiling on production 指“设置产量上限”，ceiling是“天花板”，比喻“上限”；set a floor under prices指“设置价格下限”，floor是“地板”，比喻“下限”。注意，这两处的介词不同，ceiling 是“顶”，物理上“在上方”，搭配介词 on；floor 是“地板”，物理上“在下方”，搭配介词 under。don’ts 这里是名词，指“禁止做的事、不该做的事”，常与 do’s 搭配，形成短语do’s and don’ts，表示“应做与不应做的事项”。这个短语可以用在作文中，例如，谈到数字时代个人信息保护，可以说：
When using social media, people should be aware of the do’s and don’ts of online privacy. 在使用社交媒体时，人们应当了解网络隐私的注意事项与禁忌。
在环境保护的话题中，我们可以说：
To promote green consumption, schools can teach students about the do’s and don’ts of sustainable living. 为推动绿色消费，学校可以教授学生可持续生活的注意事项与禁忌。
Although the term “involution” is new, the problem is not. From 2012 to 2016 China suffered four and a half years of falling factory-gate prices. In response, China’s ruler introduced a policy called “supply-side structural reform”. Its original aim was to raise prices and restore profitability, not by increasing demand, but by curbing supply. 尽管“内卷”这一说法是近年出现的，但相关问题并不新鲜。2012年至2016年间，中国经历了长达四年半的工业品出厂价格下跌。对此，中国的决策者提出了“供给侧结构性改革”政策。其初衷并非通过扩大需求来提振价格和恢复盈利，而是通过压缩供给来实现上述目标。
