华盛顿邮报 黑色星期五怎么买更划算？（1）

 

    So, one year I let my sister talk me into going shopping like at, I don't know, 4:00 or 5:00 or some crazy hour.

    有一年，我听信了姐姐的劝说，在凌晨四五点或其他疯狂的时间点去购物。

    It was cold. It was a lot of people. And I said never again.

    天气寒冷，人山人海。我说再也不想这么干了。

    You know, we were all, like, pressing up against the door, ready for them to open. And it was just sort of chaotic¹. And I would have much rather had stayed in my bed.

    我们都紧紧地贴在门上，等着商店开门，乱成了一团。我宁愿躺在床上。

    So I am not one of those folks that have to be out there first thing in the morning when the doors open.

    我不是那种早上一开门就一定要在第一时间赶到的人。

    That's Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist² for The Post, and she's talking about that big American annual tradition, Black Friday.

    这是《华盛顿邮报》个人理财专栏作家米歇尔·辛格里的采访，她在谈论美国一年一度的隆重传统——黑色星期五。

    It's one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and it makes some people do crazy things.

    黑色星期五是一年中最盛大的购物日之一，这会让一些人做出疯狂的举动。

    Yeah, there's some sort of thrill about that, right? Like the thrill of a deal.

    是啊，黑色星期五令人兴奋，对吧? 比如交易带来的兴奋感。

    For some people, yeah. But not me.

    对某些人来说会，但我不会。

    Obviously, that's not the case for a lot of people.

    显然，很多人并不会感到兴奋。

    Tens of millions of Americans will be shopping this weekend.

    数千万的美国人将在这个周末购物。

    But whether you're braving a mall or doing all your buying online, Michelle has a warning.

    但无论你是在线下商场顶着人流购物，还是在线上购物，米歇尔都想提醒大家。

    Just because something is on sale doesn't mean it's a bargain.

    某样特价销售的商品并不意味着是真的物美价廉。

    So, you know, they talk about how people get charged up because they want to get that discount.

    商家想的是如何让顾客冲到前面买买买，因为顾客想要得到折扣。

    And it's almost like they're, you know, if you've got a really good cup of coffee and you're just like, "Ah!" And that's how they feel with the deal.

    好比如果你喝了一杯非常好的咖啡，你就会很开心。这就是顾客对优惠价格的感受。

    But if you really know how this stuff works, you're really not getting a deal.

    但如果真的了解这些东西是怎么运作的，你就真的不会买了。

    So how does all of this stuff work?

    那么这些东西是如何运作的呢?

    And how can we do our shopping without maxing out our credit cards and going crazy?

    我们怎样才能在购物时不刷爆信用卡，不买疯了呢?

    Today we have a treat. The queen of personal finance is here to tell us how to navigate³ the holiday shopping season.

    今天我们邀请到了个人理财女王米歇尔，她会在节目中告诉我们如何应对假日购物季。

    Michelle gives very practical and frankly⁴ non-judgmental advice on how to buy through embracing your shopping style and getting creative in how you give.

    米歇尔给出了非常实用、坦率但又相对客观的建议，她告诉我们如何通过接受购物风格、发挥购物创造力来进行购买。

    I have to confess, I sort of hate shopping and I can't believe, in a conversation about shopping, Michelle made me laugh so much. She kind of changed my mind too.

    我得承认，我有点讨厌购物。我不敢相信，在一场关于购物的谈话中，米歇尔会让我哈哈大笑。她还在某种程度上改变了我的想法。

1 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

2 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

3 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。