Everything in China is negotiable, so goes the saying, reminding foreign travelers to be on guard and avoid being overcharged. Foreign tourists are often advised to learn some bargaining skills so that they can avoid paying high prices. Generally speaking, bargaining is an art and an important part of people’s life in China.
But the younger generation is gradually losing interest and the ability to negotiate a better deal. With fatter wallets, young people who never experienced war or shortages seldom bother to spend 10 minutes at a roadside shop cutting the price of a cell phone cover by 1 yuan. Saving for a rainy day and making good use of every penny---values held dear by older generations---no longer seem necessary. Naturally, bargaining is out, in an increasingly rich society. In this sense, bargaining is a product of poverty.
But in many countries, where residents’ incomes are much lower than those in China, bargaining is not popular at all. I can still remember my failed bargaining attempts in Africa and Indonesia, where vendor(小贩) looked at me in surprise when I sought something at half the price. They shook their heads and stopped the negotiation. Latter I was told by friends who had been staying there for years that bargaining was not part of local commercial culture.
During the years when the planned economy changed into the market economy, it was difficult for ordinary buyers to get a full picture of the product prices at a time when travel was inconvenient, and information spread slowly, adding to the information asymmetry(不对称). Afraid of being overcharged by vendors, buyers turned to the old wisdom of bargaining whenever and wherever they could.
Nowadays, the popularity of e-commerce has improved pricing transparence(透明) to the extreme. With the click of a mouse, all kinds of information on a product can be found, with users’ comments helping new consumers make decisions. With such transparency, overpricing becomes less frequent and bargaining is not a necessity for shoppers. In this sense, reduced bargaining activity can be seen as a sign of China’s progress toward a more mature economy.
Bargaining is a skill to _______.

A．buy high-quality products	B．communicate with foreigners
C．avoid paying too much	D．increase sales

In China, the younger generation is losing interest in bargaining as a result of _______.

A．rising incomes

B．an increasing number of products

C．the value of saving for a raining day

D．their fear of losing face

What can we infer from the author’s experiences in Africa and Indonesia?

A．Bargaining is always popular in poor countries.

B．Vendors there are impolite to foreign travelers.

C．It’s not avoidable to go abroad without bargaining skills.

D．Bargaining is not necessarily related to incomes.

In terms of price and product information, buyers in China used to ____.

A．be kept in the dark	B．know better than seller
C．show no concern	D．be well-informed

What’s the main theme of this passage?

A．Give buyers some tips about how to bargain.

B．Bargaining is disappearing with the development of society.

C．Make good use of every penny.

D．The younger generation is good at bargaining.