Why Crabs Cost Less This Autumn
Autumn is crab season in China, and hairy crabs are usually a treat that costs real money. This year shoppers are finding something surprising. In Shanghai, small female crabs from Nanjing were sold for five or six yuan each, and a three-liang crab from Lake Tai was priced at just ten yuan. Compared with last year, the price of ordinary small and medium crabs has fallen by thirty to fifty percent.
Farmers point to the weather. Summer brought no long period of extreme heat, the water stayed stable and food was plentiful, so the crabs grew well. One expert explained that some crabs shed their shells six times instead of five this year, which made them bigger. As a result, national output is expected to pass one million tonnes for the first time, about ten percent more than last year.
But supply is only half of the story. For years, roughly half of all hairy crabs were bought as gifts for clients and colleagues, and gift orders could make up most of a seller’s business before the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year those orders fell sharply, and many old customers simply stopped buying. Crabs have turned from a symbol of status back into an everyday seasonal food.
The result is a market split in two. Ordinary crabs in the most common sizes are cheap and hard to sell, while large crabs over half a jin still go for about one hundred and fifty yuan each, and farmers there are busy taking orders. A big crab is not worried about its price; a small one is.
Industry experts say the cheap season is a warning, not a disaster. Everyone follows the same plan: when prices rise, farmers dig more ponds, and when prices fall, they hold back their catch. In the long run, growers who improve their skills, build a brand, or sell a processed product will earn more than those who only sell raw crabs.
Words to know:
- crab (螃蟹；大闸蟹)
- output (产量；产出)
- customer (顾客；客户)
- sharply (急剧地；大幅度地)
- status (地位；身份象征)
- raw (未加工的；生的)
- brand (品牌)
- processed (加工过的)
长难句拆解 · 原因状语从句与比较结构
第一句：Summer brought no long period of extreme heat, the water stayed stable and food was plentiful, so the crabs grew well. 这是一个「三个并列原因 + so 结果」的句子。前三个分句 Summer brought no long period of extreme heat、the water stayed stable、food was plentiful 全用逗号连接，属于并列关系，共同构成原因；so the crabs grew well 引出结果。中文习惯说「因为……所以……」，但英语里 so 与 because 不能同时出现，这里只用 so，前面的原因靠并列铺陈。 直译：夏季没有出现长时间极端高温，水质稳定、饵料充足，所以螃蟹长得好。
第二句：Ordinary crabs in the most common sizes are cheap and hard to sell, while large crabs over half a jin still go for about one hundred and fifty yuan each, and farmers there are busy taking orders. while 在这里表示对比，相当于中文的「而」，把两种相反的市场表现放在一起：一边是中小规格的蟹便宜又难卖，另一边是半斤以上的大蟹仍能卖到约 150 元一只。go for 在此不是「去」，而是「以某个价格售出」；be busy doing 是固定搭配，意为「忙于做某事」。 直译：最常见规格的普通螃蟹便宜又难卖，而半斤以上的大蟹仍能卖到约 150 元一只，那里的蟹农正忙着接订单。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读的题干很少照抄原文，它更喜欢把同一个意思换一种说法。下面这些替换在本题材里很常见，先自己盖住右边，试着回忆。
- fallen by thirty to fifty percent → dropped by about a third to a half（降幅的两种读法）
- food was plentiful → there was plenty to eat（饵料充足的同义改写）
- national output is expected to pass one million tonnes → the country will likely produce over a million tonnes（预期产量的改写）
- fell sharply → went down a lot in a short time（急剧下降的替换表达）
- turned from a symbol of status back into an everyday food → become an ordinary food again（回归日常食材的释义）
- a market split in two → a market divided into two very different parts（两极分化的改写）
- hold back their catch → keep their crabs instead of selling（惜售的替换表达）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- 判断正误：This year, all hairy crabs became much cheaper, including the largest ones.
- 简答：Why did gift orders for hairy crabs fall this year?
- 选词填空：Growers who build a ____ or sell a processed product will earn more. (A. brand B. pond C. catch)
参考答案与解析
- False（错误）。原文明确说 large crabs over half a jin still go for about one hundred and fifty yuan each, and farmers there are busy taking orders，即大规格蟹价格坚挺、并不愁卖。题干用 all… including the largest ones 把「部分下跌」扩写成「全线暴跌」，属典型的「扩大范围、偷换结论」干扰项。
- Because many old customers stopped buying them as gifts.（因为许多老客户不再把大闸蟹作为礼品采购了。）原文为 This year those orders fell sharply, and many old customers simply stopped buying，原因紧跟在 those orders fell sharply 之后，定位 gift orders 即可找到。
- A. brand。原文为 growers who improve their skills, build a brand, or sell a processed product will earn more。B 的 pond 出现在养殖户扩塘一句、C 的 catch 出现在惜售一句，都是文中原词但搭配对象不同，属「偷换对象」的干扰项。
中文译文
秋天是中国的吃蟹季，大闸蟹通常是一种要花不少钱才能享用的美味。今年，消费者却发现了意外的变化。在上海，产自南京的小规格雌蟹卖到五六元一只，太湖三两规格的蟹只卖十元。与去年相比，普通中小规格大闸蟹的价格下降了 30% 到 50%。
蟹农把原因归于天气。今年夏天没有出现长时间的极端高温，水质稳定、饵料充足，所以螃蟹长得好。一位专家解释说，今年部分螃蟹蜕了六次壳而不是五次，因此个头更大。结果，全国产量有望首次突破一百万吨，比去年增产约 10%。
但供给只是故事的一半。多年来，差不多一半的大闸蟹是作为礼品送给客户和同事的，在中秋节前，礼品订单能占到商户生意的大半。今年这些订单大幅下滑，许多合作多年的老客户干脆不再采购。大闸蟹已经从身份的象征，回归为一种时令食材。
结果是一个分裂成两半的市场。最常见规格的普通螃蟹便宜又难卖，而半斤以上的大蟹仍能卖到约 150 元一只，那里的蟹农正忙着接订单。大蟹不愁价钱，小蟹才愁。
业内人士说，这个便宜的季节是一个警钟，而不是一场灾难。大家的选择高度一致：价钱好时挖更多的塘，价钱差时就把蟹压在手里不卖。从长远看，那些改进技术、做出品牌或者卖加工产品的养殖户，会比只卖原料蟹的人挣得更多。