付出代价的经验
【内容提示】
如今，上当的事也真不少。要获得一种经验也得付出高昂的代价。比如你要请你的朋友吃一顿午饭，你们只要找个幽静的地方边吃边叙即可，而不需要讲排场。你在某一夜总会预订一房间，约好你的朋友去吃饭时，服务员问你吃50元的还是20元的饭，你说吃50元的。等你付款时才知道是每人50元。有时候除了饭菜还得加上饮料钱、酒钱、水果钱和空调钱。钱再多也得付，因为这不是俱乐部的错而是你自己的无知。吃一堑，长一智。长一智，要付出十倍的代价。
【作文示范】
Paid Experience
These days experiences, like many other things, are becoming more and more expensive. One's got to pay quite a lot to get an experience, even an ordinary one.
Not long ago, I wanted to treat my friend to a lunch. What we really needed was a quiet place for some conversation, not a big meal. So I told my friend,“Let's go to a nice club.”
When I ordered a day in advance, I was asked whether I would eat a 20 yuan or 50 yuan lunch. I said,“50 yuan”I didn't realize, until I was asked to pay after the lunch, that“50 yuan” means“50 yuan for each person”.
There were five of us the other day, and all of us were surprised by the quality of the 50 yuan meal (for all, we thought). The bill came at last; it was 310.40 (250 yuan for the five of us plus the charges for drinks, fruits and air conditioning). I paid the bill without a word.
What could I say? It was not the club's fault. It was my own ignorance① that made me pay the largest lunch bill of my life.
On the whole, it was not so miserable; we had a good lunch and in a beautiful place. Besides, the experience was unique and will be helpful in later years.
To support the logic of the lunch bill, I have developed my own calculation②: 50 yuan for the lunch and 260. 40 for the experience.
This paid experience has made me ten times wiser.
（选自1987年11月10日《上海学生英文报》）
【词语解释】
①ignorance['ign+r+ns]n．无知；愚昧
②calculation[?k$lkju'leiM+n] n．计算结果；计算
【写法指要】
这是一篇杂文，是对商业上欺诈行为的一种针砭。作者采用诙谐的笔调，结合自己的亲身经历——约朋友去夜总会小酌的事例，揭露和批评了当今社会上的一些丑恶现象。
文章一开头提出论点：经验也得付出可怕的代价。接下来，作者结合事实运用归纳推理法进行论证。最后的结论是：花300多元吃一顿饭算来倒还不算太惨，50元在华丽的餐厅美餐一顿，260.40元买了一个经验教训，以后就会学乖。