A：Hey, look at the offer I got in my e-mail. It says that I can get rich quickly while working at home!

嘿，看我电子信箱里别人寄过来的邮件。上面说我在家工作也能快速致富。

B：Do you also believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy?

你也相信圣诞老人和牙齿仙女?

A：What do you mean?

你什么意思?

B：I mean that you're gullible. You shouldn't believe everything you read, especially on the Internet.

我是说你很容易受骗。你不应该相信所有你看到的，尤其是在互联网上看到的。

A：But it seems like a good idea. All I have to do is first send some money to the person who sent me the letter. After that he'll tell me how to earn much more money.

但是看起来好像是个好主意。 我所要做的就是先给发给我这封信的人寄一些钱。 然后他就告诉我怎样去挣更多的钱。

B：Sounds like a pyramid scheme. Have you heard of those before?

听起来像是传销。你以前听过那些东西吗?

A：Pyramid scheme? What is that?

传销?是什么?

B：It's a scam7 that's based on a hierarchy, like a pyramid. The person at the top asks the people below him for money, and then tells them to go and ask other people for money while sending some of it back to him.

它是一个以等级为基础的诡计，像一个金字塔。上层的人向他下面的人要钱，然后告诉他们去向别人要钱并同时把一部分返回给他。

A：Sounds good to me. The guy at the top gets money and so do the people below him.

听起来不错。上面的人得到钱，而且他下面的人也得到钱。

B：Not exactly. The scam keeps on going, with the people at the bottom paying more and more money until they reach the very bottom.

并不如此。诡计一直玩下去时，底部的人付的钱越来越多，直到他们成为最底部的人。

A：What happens then?

那会怎么样?

B：Nothing. The people at the bottom give their money to the people above them, and they get nothing. They end up losing. That's why it's a scam.

不怎么样。底部的人把他们的钱给他们上面的人，他们自己什么也得不到。他们最终遭受损失。这就是为什么它是个诡计的原因。

A：I see. I guess I should be more careful about what I read, especially on the Internet where you have no idea who anybody is.

我明白了。我想我应该对我看到的要多加小心，尤其是在互联网上的，你都不知道谁是谁。