Coal is also not the bargain for jobs that it's made out to be.

這句話出自CNN，搜索bargain詞匯時的例句，看不懂什么意思，這里的bargain for jobs是什么意思？

My comments:

To paraphrase: Coal isn’t cheap to produce and doesn’t create as many well-paying jobs as people think it does.

A bargain is a purchase that’s bought at a lower than usual price. For example, if all people buy that handbag for $50 a piece and you get one at $30, you have a bargain.

In our example, the coal industry is perceived (made out) to be a job creator as it traditionally requires a lot of hands (to do the manual work). Nowadays, with better technology, automatic equipment and all, coal mining no longer needs as many people.

Also, coal miner may have earned handsome money in the old days, relatively speaking, but it is no longer the case today. Alternative and cleaner energy, such as nuclear and wind power, hire more people and with better pay.

These are, I’m sure, (at least some of) the reasons why coal is not the bargain for jobs that it’s made out to be.

Related stories:

Build the case

Sound bites

Keep out of the park

Go places

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.