Black Friday

这几天西方媒体频繁使用一个词：Black Friday（黑色星期五）。在美国，它专指每年感恩节（星期四）第二天的那个星期五。这一天是全国各大卖场疯狂减价的一天，更是许多商家坦言‘全年唯一获利’的一天，所以这个星期五被染成了用来记录盈利的‘黑色’，而不是亏损的‘红色’。‘黑色星期五’由此而来。

今年的这一天当然备受瞩目。原因？境遇不同，经济萧条了。几个小时前我上了Apple的官方网站，新一代13寸Macbook直降101美元，而其它产品的价格也有不同程度的下调。但只限周五一天。当我再次登陆这个网站时（已经周六凌晨了），全部产品恢复了原价。Apple现在应该在忙着数钱吧！

和Apple一样，美国各大超市都在纷纷进行着各种优惠活动，节日气氛相当浓厚！25分钟前The New York Times纽约版11月29日（星期六）的头版火热出炉了，其中一封面文章请点击All Eyes on Holiday Shopping Turnout in Bleak Economy（无底经济萧萧下 假日‘血’拼滚滚来），下面段落摘自该文。

全文开场第一句，两个形容词统领全篇chaotic和deadly：In a sign of consumer desperation amid a bleak economy, the annual rite of retailing known as Black Friday turned chaotic and even deadly, as predawn shoppers scrambled for holiday bargains.

金融海啸，有人因抢购狂潮而被踩死：A Wal-Mart worker on Long Island died after being trampled by customers who broke through the doors early Friday. And fights and injuries occurred around the country at some other stores operated by Wal-Mart… And in many cases, after an initial onslaught, crowds dwindled after the few sought-after items had sold out… And for some consumer psychologists, the mad scramble was a sign of the times.

‘顾客逐渐失去理智’：Walter Loeb, president of Loeb Associates, a retail consultancy, said there was shopping mania at Wal-Mart every year. But this year, he said, it seems “people are becoming irrational in their actions.”

‘那电视是我的！’：At a Wal-Mart store in Columbus, Ohio, Nikki Nicely, 19, jumped onto a man’s back and pounded his shoulders when he tried to take a 40-inch Samsung flat-screen television to which she had laid claim. “That’s my TV!” Ms. Nicely shouted… A police officer and security guard intervened, but not before Ms. Nicely took an elbow in the face. In the end, she was the one with the $798 television, marked down from $1,000. “That’s right,” she cried as her adversary walked away. “This here is my TV!”

‘真是疯了！’：Charisma Booker… said she had been shopping at Wal-Mart every Black Friday for nearly a decade. “There are fewer people here this year, but they’re more aggressive,” she said. “I’ve never seen anybody fight like this. This is crazy.”

还有人抢走别人满载的购物车：At a Wal-Mart in Niles, Ill., a mother fought back tears when she discovered someone had taken her shopping cart filled with toys.

经济不景气，哎，是忧是喜：Many retailers opened their stores earlier this year, and offered the biggest discounts in their history... “I don’t like the chaos… but I do like the deals.”

(English news from Nov. 29, 2008, The New York Times)