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黑色星期五购物节变得越来越讨厌(Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year)
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黑色星期五购物节变得越来越讨厌
黑色星期五不仅仅是一个日期，也是一个概念。在过去，这一天标志着节日购物季的开始，人们会开始储备圣诞礼物。 
双语精读
Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
为什么黑色星期五促销变得一年比一年讨厌
When is Black Friday? The obvious answer is a literal one. It is the day after Thanksgiving, an American holiday when families gather to gorge on turkey and pumpkin pie, which this year falls on November 29th.
黑色星期五是什么时候？显而易见的答案是字面上的那个黑色星期五。也就是感恩节后的一天，感恩节是家人团聚、大吃火鸡和南瓜派的美国节日，今年的感恩节是11月29日。
Yet Black Friday is not simply a date, it is also an idea. The day traditionally marked the beginning of the festive shopping season, when people would start to stock up on Christmas presents. Today, it is the time of year during which everything goes on sale.
但黑色星期五不仅仅是一个日期，也是一个概念。在过去，这一天标志着节日购物季的开始，人们会开始储备圣诞礼物。在如今，这一天是一年中所有东西都在打折促销的日子。
And pinpointing when this begins is a much more difficult endeavour. In a bid to find an answer your columnist searched her inbox for the earliest Black Friday discount offered by a retailer. The missive came in early October.
要准确指出黑色星期五始于何时是一项困难得多的任务。为了找到答案，笔者在她的收件箱中搜索了零售商提供的最早的黑色星期五折扣邮件。这封邮件在10月初就发来了。
To understand this baffling development, consider the underlying economics. American retail is a fiercely competitive market--but that is different from being a "perfectly" competitive market.
要理解黑色星期五的这种令人困惑的发展，需要考虑底层经济逻辑。美国零售业是一个竞争激烈的市场，但与"完全"竞争的市场不同。
Léon Walras, a brilliant 19th-century French economist, defined such a market as existing when large numbers of buyers and sellers meet, with perfect information, in order to exchange homogeneous products.
莱昂·瓦尔拉斯是一位杰出的19世纪法国经济学家，他将完全竞争市场定义为大量的买家和卖家在信息充分的情况下会面，以交换同质产品。
The markets for toaster ovens or slippers do not quite operate in the same manner. For a start, goods are differentiated by design and quality. Information is far from perfect, hence the popularity of recommendation services such as The Strategist and Wirecutter, which test and rank products.
但烤面包机或拖鞋的市场运作方式与这种市场不完全相同。首先，商品是通过设计和质量来区分的。信息也远非充分，因此像"策略家"和"铁丝剪"这样的商品推荐服务就很受欢迎，这两个网站会测评产品并进行排名。
Retailers compete on price, of course, but, critically, they also compete on timing.
零售商当然会在价格上竞争，但关键是他们也会在时间上竞争。
Imagine a customer who is looking to purchase a blender. Bob is torn between the "top pick" on Wirecutter--the Vitamix 5200, a pricey 170.
想象一下，有一位顾客正在计划购买一台搅拌机。鲍勃在纠结是买铁丝剪网站推荐的"首选"（售价450美元的高端机型维他密斯5200），还是买更便宜的亚军选项：售价约170美元的Cleanblend搅拌机。
He prefers the Vitamix, and is willing to pay perhaps 120. He knows the Vitamix will go on sale soon, but does not know how big the discount will be, and perhaps the other retailer will have sold out of Cleanblends by then.
他更喜欢维他密斯，并且愿意为它多付大约200美元。然后在10月下旬，他收到了一封来自一家小型零售商的电子邮件，Cleanblend售价仅为120美元。他知道维他密斯搅拌机很快就会打折，但不知道折扣会有多大，而且也许到那时另一家零售商的Cleanblend就已经卖完了。
He decides to make a purchase. Two weeks later, while whizzing up a morning smoothie in his Cleanblend, he sees the Vitamix has been discounted to just $300, and feels a pang of regret. As this tale indicates, retailers have an incentive to offer discounts early, ahead of rivals, since doing so just might snag them an extra few sales.
他决定购买Cleanblend。两周后，当他在早晨用Cleanblend打奶昔时，看到维他密斯已经打折到仅300美元，于是一阵懊悔袭上心头。正如这个故事所表明的，零售商有动力领先于竞争对手而提前提供折扣，因为这样做可能会为他们多抢到几笔生意。
Some customers might enjoy this long window during which they can peruse discounted goods. But there is an advantage for buyers when they are able to see all offers at once.
有些顾客可能喜欢这么长的窗口期，在此期间他们可以仔细研究打折商品。但是如果买家能够同时看到所有报价，这对他们来说是一种优势。
And anecdotally, at least, the prolonged approach to Black Friday quickly becomes exhausting. Rather than a short frenzy, the discount season feels like a never-ending barrage of targeted advertisements and email reminders.
而且至少根据听说到的情况来看，黑色星期五漫长的预热期很快就会让人筋疲力尽。折扣季并不是短暂的狂热，而像是一场没完没了的定向广告和电子邮件提醒的轰炸。
词汇预习
competitive [高考]
美[kəmˈpetətɪv] | 英[kəmˈpetətɪv]
adj. 竞争的；有竞争力的；胜过或超过他人的
option [高考]
美[ˈɑːpʃn] | 英[ˈɒpʃn]
n. 选项；选择；选择权；可选择的事物 v. 购买（或出售）…的选择权
traditionally [高考]
美[trə'dɪʃənəlɪ] | 英[trə'dɪʃənəlɪ]
adv. 传统上；照惯例
incentive [高考]
美[ɪnˈsentɪv] | 英[ɪnˈsentɪv]
adj. 刺激的；鼓励的 n. 刺激；鼓励；动机
pumpkin [高考]
美[ˈpʌmpkɪn] | 英[ˈpʌmpkɪn]
n. 南瓜
economist [高考]
美[ɪˈkɑnəmɪst] | 英[ɪˈkɒnəmɪst]
n. 经济学家；[古]节俭的人
recommendation [高考]
美[ˌrekəmenˈdeɪʃn] | 英[ˌrekəmenˈdeɪʃn]
n. 推荐；建议
hence [高考]
美[hens] | 英[hens]
adv. 因此；从此以后
columnist [高考]
美[ˈkɑləmnɪst] | 英[ˈkɒləmnɪst]
n. 专栏作家
approach [高考]
美[əˈproʊtʃ] | 英[əˈprəʊtʃ]
v. 接近；建议；接洽；着手处理 n. 方法；接近；路径；道路
gather [高考]
美[ˈɡæðər] | 英[ˈɡæðə(r)]
v. 聚集；集合；收集；推测 n. 聚集；褶子
purchase [高考]
美[ˈpɜːrtʃəs] | 英[ˈpɜːtʃəs]
vt. 购买 n. 购买；购买的物品
obvious [高考]
美[ˈɑːbviəs] | 英[ˈɒbviəs]
adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的;自明
discount [高考]
美[ˈdɪskaʊnt , dɪsˈkaʊnt] | 英[ˈdɪskaʊnt , dɪsˈkaʊnt]
n. 折扣；贴现率 vt. 打折扣；贴现；不全信；不重视 vi. 贴现；减息贷款
brilliant [高考]
美[ˈbrɪliənt] | 英[ˈbrɪliənt]
adj. 卓越的；灿烂的；美妙的；杰出的；才华横溢的 n. 宝石
bid [高考]
美[bɪd] | 英[bɪd]
v. （买方）出价；投标；吩咐；叫牌 n. 出价；努力；叫牌
in order [高考]
美[ɪn 'ɔːrdər] | 英[ɪn 'ɔːdə]
整齐；秩序井然；按顺序
approach to [高考]
美[əˈprəʊtʃ tu] | 英[əˈproʊtʃ tu:]
接近；通往……的方法
gorge [高考]
美[ɡɔːrdʒ] | 英[ɡɔːdʒ]
n. 峡，峡谷；咽喉；暴食；障碍物 v. 贪婪地吃，狼吞虎咽；尽情享受，沉醉；使扩张 adj. 非常漂亮的，极其吸引人的 【名】 （Gorge）（西）戈赫，（法）戈尔热（人名）
would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式
perfectly [四级]
美[ˈpɜːrfɪktli] | 英[ˈpɜːfɪktli]
adv. 完全地；无瑕疵地；完整地；完美地；圆满地
email [四级]
美['imeɪl] | 英['i:meɪl]
vt. 发电子邮件；给……发电子邮件 n. 电子邮件，电子信函
retailer [四级]
美[ˈritelɚ] | 英[ˈri:teɪlə(r)]
n. 零售商(店)
retail [四级]
美[ˈriːteɪl , rɪˈteɪl] | 英[ˈriːteɪl , rɪˈteɪl]
n. 零售 vt. 零售；传述 adv. 以零售形式
pang [四级]
美[pæŋ] | 英[pæŋ]
n. （肉体上的）剧痛；（精神上的）悲痛；苦闷 v. 使剧痛
critically [四级]
美[ˈkrɪtɪkli] | 英['krɪtɪkli]
adv. 批评性地；爱挑剔地；重要地；危急地
homogeneous [四级]
美[ˌhoʊməˈdʒiːniəs] | 英[ˌhɒməˈdʒiːniəs]
adj. 同质的；同种的；相似的
fiercely [四级]
美[ˈfɪrslɪ] | 英[fɪəslɪ]
adv. 猛烈地；厉害地
existing [四级]
美[ɪɡˈzɪstɪŋ] | 英[ɪɡˈzɪstɪŋ]
adj. 现存的；现有的
economics [四级]
美[ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪks , ˌekəˈnɑːmɪks] | 英[ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks , ˌekəˈnɒmɪks]
n. 经济学
offering [四级]
美[ˈɔːfərɪŋ] | 英[ˈɒfərɪŋ]
n. 供品；作品；出售物
endeavour [六级]
美[ɪnˈdevər] | 英[ɪnˈdevə(r)]
v. [英]尽力；努力 n. 奋力；尽力
literal [六级]
美[ˈlɪtərəl] | 英[ˈlɪtərəl]
adj. 逐字的；字面上的；文字的 n. 错误字体
out of [六级]
美[aʊt ʌv] | 英[aut ɔv]
prep. 离…一段距离；从…里；离开 ...；出于
underlying [专四]
美[ˌʌndərˈlaɪɪŋ] | 英[ˌʌndəˈlaɪɪŋ]
adj. 潜在的；隐含的；在下面的；基本的；[经]优先的
frenzy [专四]
美[ˈfrenzi] | 英[ˈfrenzi]
n. 狂乱；狂暴；狂怒
festive [专八]
美[ˈfɛstɪv] | 英[ˈfestɪv]
adj. 欢乐的；节日的；喜庆的
barrage [专八]
美[bəˈrɑːʒ] | 英[ˈbærɑːʒ]
n. 弹幕；掩护炮火 n. 拦河坝 vt. 以密集火力进攻
snag [专八]
美[snæɡ] | 英[snæɡ]
n.小困难或障碍；突出物；钩丝 vt.戳坏；抓住；清除暗桩 vi.妨碍；被戳坏
Thanksgiving [考研]
美[ˌθæŋksˈɡɪvɪŋ] | 英[ˌθæŋksˈɡɪvɪŋ]
n. 感恩节
marked [托福]
美[mɑːrkt] | 英[mɑːkt]
adj. 有记号的；显著的；受监视的 v. 弄污；打分；留意；做标记（动词mark的过去式和过去分词）
prolonged [托福]
美[prəˈlɔːŋd] | 英[prəˈlɒŋd]
adj. 持续很久的
重点讲解
Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
为什么黑色星期五促销变得一年比一年讨厌
stock up on sth 备足某物；储备某物
【例】We have stocked up on food and wine for the party.
我们已经为派对备足了食物和酒。
【拓展】stock n. 库存；存货
When is Black Friday? The obvious answer is a literal one. It is the day after Thanksgiving, an American holiday when families gather to gorge on turkey and pumpkin pie, which this year falls on November 29th.
黑色星期五是什么时候？显而易见的答案是字面上的那个黑色星期五。也就是感恩节后的一天，感恩节是家人团聚、大吃火鸡和南瓜派的美国节日，今年的感恩节是11月29日。
stock up on sth 备足某物；储备某物
【例】We have stocked up on food and wine for the party.
我们已经为派对备足了食物和酒。
【拓展】stock n. 库存；存货
Yet Black Friday is not simply a date, it is also an idea. The day traditionally marked the beginning of the festive shopping season, when people would start to stock up on Christmas presents. Today, it is the time of year during which everything goes on sale.
但黑色星期五不仅仅是一个日期，也是一个概念。在过去，这一天标志着节日购物季的开始，人们会开始储备圣诞礼物。在如今，这一天是一年中所有东西都在打折促销的日子。
stock up on sth 备足某物；储备某物
【例】We have stocked up on food and wine for the party.
我们已经为派对备足了食物和酒。
【拓展】stock n. 库存；存货
And pinpointing when this begins is a much more difficult endeavour. In a bid to find an answer your columnist searched her inbox for the earliest Black Friday discount offered by a retailer. The missive came in early October.
要准确指出黑色星期五始于何时是一项困难得多的任务。为了找到答案，笔者在她的收件箱中搜索了零售商提供的最早的黑色星期五折扣邮件。这封邮件在10月初就发来了。
pinpoint v. 明确指出；准确说明
【例】It is not possible to pinpoint the time of death.
无法确定具体的死亡时间。
【近义词】put your finger on sth 确切指出（口语）
in a bid to do sth 努力做某事；目的是
【例】The company has closed an unprofitable factory in a bid to cut costs.
公司关闭了一个不盈利的工厂，目的是尽量削减开支。
【近义词】in an effort to do sth 努力做某事；目的是
To understand this baffling development, consider the underlying economics. American retail is a fiercely competitive market--but that is different from being a "perfectly" competitive market.
要理解黑色星期五的这种令人困惑的发展，需要考虑底层经济逻辑。美国零售业是一个竞争激烈的市场，但与"完全"竞争的市场不同。
Léon Walras, a brilliant 19th-century French economist, defined such a market as existing when large numbers of buyers and sellers meet, with perfect information, in order to exchange homogeneous products.
莱昂·瓦尔拉斯是一位杰出的19世纪法国经济学家，他将完全竞争市场定义为大量的买家和卖家在信息充分的情况下会面，以交换同质产品。
The markets for toaster ovens or slippers do not quite operate in the same manner. For a start, goods are differentiated by design and quality. Information is far from perfect, hence the popularity of recommendation services such as The Strategist and Wirecutter, which test and rank products.
但烤面包机或拖鞋的市场运作方式与这种市场不完全相同。首先，商品是通过设计和质量来区分的。信息也远非充分，因此像"策略家"和"铁丝剪"这样的商品推荐服务就很受欢迎，这两个网站会测评产品并进行排名。
differentiate v. 区分；辨别
【例】to differentiate between right and wrong
分清是非
【近义词】distinguish v. 区分；辨别
【拓展】different adj. 不同的
Retailers compete on price, of course, but, critically, they also compete on timing.
零售商当然会在价格上竞争，但关键是他们也会在时间上竞争。
differentiate v. 区分；辨别
【例】to differentiate between right and wrong
分清是非
【近义词】distinguish v. 区分；辨别
【拓展】different adj. 不同的
Imagine a customer who is looking to purchase a blender. Bob is torn between the "top pick" on Wirecutter--the Vitamix 5200, a pricey 170.
想象一下，有一位顾客正在计划购买一台搅拌机。鲍勃在纠结是买铁丝剪网站推荐的"首选"（售价450美元的高端机型维他密斯5200），还是买更便宜的亚军选项：售价约170美元的Cleanblend搅拌机。
be torn between （在两者间）难以选择，纠结
【例】He was torn between staying and leaving.
他对是去还是留感到左右为难。
【拓展】tear v. 撕扯；拉扯
runner-up n. 亚军
【例】He is the runner-up behind Tom.
他是亚军，名次在汤姆之后。
【拓展】run-up n. 前期准备阶段
【例】the run-up to the election 选举前的准备阶段
sell out of/be sold out 售完；售罄
【例】The bread is sold out.
面包卖完了。
We have sold out of the bread.
我们的面包卖完了。
【拓展】be on sale 打折促销
be for sale 待售；可以出售
He prefers the Vitamix, and is willing to pay perhaps 120. He knows the Vitamix will go on sale soon, but does not know how big the discount will be, and perhaps the other retailer will have sold out of Cleanblends by then.
他更喜欢维他密斯，并且愿意为它多付大约200美元。然后在10月下旬，他收到了一封来自一家小型零售商的电子邮件，Cleanblend售价仅为120美元。他知道维他密斯搅拌机很快就会打折，但不知道折扣会有多大，而且也许到那时另一家零售商的Cleanblend就已经卖完了。
be torn between （在两者间）难以选择，纠结
【例】He was torn between staying and leaving.
他对是去还是留感到左右为难。
【拓展】tear v. 撕扯；拉扯
runner-up n. 亚军
【例】He is the runner-up behind Tom.
他是亚军，名次在汤姆之后。
【拓展】run-up n. 前期准备阶段
【例】the run-up to the election 选举前的准备阶段
sell out of/be sold out 售完；售罄
【例】The bread is sold out.
面包卖完了。
We have sold out of the bread.
我们的面包卖完了。
【拓展】be on sale 打折促销
be for sale 待售；可以出售
He decides to make a purchase. Two weeks later, while whizzing up a morning smoothie in his Cleanblend, he sees the Vitamix has been discounted to just $300, and feels a pang of regret. As this tale indicates, retailers have an incentive to offer discounts early, ahead of rivals, since doing so just might snag them an extra few sales.
他决定购买Cleanblend。两周后，当他在早晨用Cleanblend打奶昔时，看到维他密斯已经打折到仅300美元，于是一阵懊悔袭上心头。正如这个故事所表明的，零售商有动力领先于竞争对手而提前提供折扣，因为这样做可能会为他们多抢到几笔生意。
ahead of 在……之前；预先
【例】Please finish the reading ahead of next class.
请在下节课之前完成阅读任务。
【近义词】in advance of 在……之前
rival n. & v.
1. 作名词：竞争对手
【例】Harris was Trump's rival in the election.
哈里斯是特朗普的竞争对手。
【近义词】competitor n. 竞争对手
2. 作动词：竞争；比得上
【例】Nothing can rival the scenery here.
没有什么能比得上这里的风景。
【拓展】race to do sth 竞相做某事
Some customers might enjoy this long window during which they can peruse discounted goods. But there is an advantage for buyers when they are able to see all offers at once.
有些顾客可能喜欢这么长的窗口期，在此期间他们可以仔细研究打折商品。但是如果买家能够同时看到所有报价，这对他们来说是一种优势。
peruse v. 仔细研究；仔细考虑
【例】Applicants should peruse the instructions carefully.
申请人须详细阅读说明。
【拓展】perusal n. 细读；深思
【辨析】pursue v. 追求
barrage n. 炮轰；接二连三的一大堆东西
【例】a barrage of questions 连珠炮似的问题
【拓展】bombard v. 轰炸
【例】I was bombarded with a series of questions.
我遭到了一连串问题的轰炸。
And anecdotally, at least, the prolonged approach to Black Friday quickly becomes exhausting. Rather than a short frenzy, the discount season feels like a never-ending barrage of targeted advertisements and email reminders.
而且至少根据听说到的情况来看，黑色星期五漫长的预热期很快就会让人筋疲力尽。折扣季并不是短暂的狂热，而像是一场没完没了的定向广告和电子邮件提醒的轰炸。
peruse v. 仔细研究；仔细考虑
【例】Applicants should peruse the instructions carefully.
申请人须详细阅读说明。
【拓展】perusal n. 细读；深思
【辨析】pursue v. 追求
barrage n. 炮轰；接二连三的一大堆东西
【例】a barrage of questions 连珠炮似的问题
【拓展】bombard v. 轰炸
【例】I was bombarded with a series of questions.
我遭到了一连串问题的轰炸。
课后练习
What has the author found from her inbox about Black Friday?
A. Black Friday reminds people to give presents to their families.
B. This year’s Black Friday offers greater discounts than last year.
C. Black Friday begins much earlier and lasts for a longer time.
D. This year’s consumer spending is less robust than last year.
What is true about the retail market in America?
A. It is a “perfectly” competitive market.
B. Goods are of similar quality and price.
C. Perfect information is available to customers.
D. Retailers compete fiercely on a variety of factors.
Why does Bob feels regretful?
A. Because he bought the Vitamix blender at full price.
B. Because he has missed out on the Vitamix discount.
C. Because he found the Cleanblend Blender of poor quality.
D. Because he didn't wait for the greater discount on the Cleanblend.
What is the downside of a long discount season?
A. It is time-consuming to compare all the choices.
B. It is annoying to receive countless advertisements.
C. Customers have less time to peruse discounted goods.
D. Customers can see all offers at once before making decisions.
