US Shoppers Crowd Stores on 'Black Friday'

 　　The U.S. holiday shopping season has officially begun, with shoppers crowding stores for post-Thanksgiving sales in a yearly event nicknamed "Black Friday."

　　The competition for the best deals took an aggressive turn Thursday night, when a woman at a Walmart in Los Angeles used pepper spray on other customers to gain an advantage.

　　Black Friday is the day many stores sharply discount high-priced items such as electronics and the latest new toys. Its name signifies retailers²' expectations of high sales, as profits were once recorded in account books in black ink, while losses were recorded in red.

　　Stores also open their doors hours earlier than usual, which helps foster excitement among bargain hunters.

　　Black Friday is one of the most important days for retail¹ chains because it indicates what they can expect during the next month of holiday shopping -- their most lucrative³ time of year.

　　But not everyone is in favor of the phenomenon. Protesters with the anti-capitalist Occupy Wall Street movement were encouraging people to take part in "Buy Nothing Day," a day of protest against consumerism observed worldwide.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。