| 阅读理解 Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer(零售商)．It's the world's largest company which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year． Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose：to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers．At Wal-Mart that goal is never reached．The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers：On basic products that don't change the price Wal-Mart will pay and will charge shoppers must drop year after year．But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21 000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices．To survive in the face of its pricing demands makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad． Indeed the real story of Wal-Mart the story that never gets told is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us“every day low prices”． The giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost．Wal-Mart's pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas．Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?Of course US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power．But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand． People ask “How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?”Sure it's great to have bargains．But you can't buy anything if you're not employed． There is no question that Wal-Mart's drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers．By now it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused．Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle move and track goods．It is legendary(传奇)for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems．It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods． |