Supper Shopping Mall(在线收听

Supper Shopping Mall

 

Forget the 1)notion about quiet, 2)suburban shopping centres. The twenty-first century mall is an involving world of retail drama. It’s a place where shoppers are 3)electrified with 4)exotic new sights, and a place where people find a sense of connection and community. It’s a whole experience unto itself. It’s a mall world.

 

Southdale, America’s first 5)enclosed shopping mall, opened in 1956. Drawing its 6)inspiration from European 7)arcades, architect Victor Gruen, found a perfect solution to Minnesota’s freezing winters and blistering summer heat. 

 

Margaret Crawtord(Urban Theorist, Harvard University): In the history of the mall, Southdale is a key moment, because it took a kind of loose outdoor collection of stores and services and unified it under a climate-controlled roof. And this really changed the nature of shopping and the entire experience. The 8)enclosure of the mall made a much more 9)dramatic and intense space. Architects, designers, developers began to really 10)orchestrate that, and to create almost urban levels of 11)intensity. They became a whole other world, separate from the suburbs that they were located in. They became exciting and intense retail experiences. 

 

During the ’60s and ’70s, the “malling” of America took off. Liberated women were 12)empowered by their newly found 13)purchasing strength and 14)mobility. By the ’80s, look-alike malls had 15)dotted the landscape.  Something had to change.

 

Modern Mall—Mall of America

 

When Mall of America opens for business, the community screams delight. With up to nine hundred thousand visitors a week, it’s as though a new city is instantly born. 

 

Mall of America is composed of four themed shopping streets, forming a three story rectangle around Knott’s Camp Snoopy, a seven acre theme park. Mall of America is the nation’s number one tourist destination, attracting more visitors than Disney World, the Grand Canyon and Graceland combined. 

 

Karal Marling(Pop Culture Historian, Univ. of Minn.): One of the ways in which places like this tend to make their mark in this world is by 16)braggadocio. 17)Darn it, we might be cold, but we have a mall that’s bigger than 83 football fields. Uh, darn it, we have 18)tornadoes in the summer, but we’ve got a mall with the world’s largest indoor 19)amusement park.

 

Eric Nelson(Prof. of English, St. Olaf College): And just that title, Mall of America, is a 20)dynamite selling point.  And, uh, 21)evocation of the flag and logo, its  bigness.

 

And 22)draw in the crowds, it does, to popular attractions like Underwater Adventures

 

Visitor: We had asked the children, if they could go anywhere they wanted, where would they like to go? The children said they wanted to come back to Mall of America because there was so much for them to do. You can see, they just love it. They 23)have a ball. 

 

It’s a fantasy that you can walk through. Someone has described malls as “television that you walk through.” Walking through the Mall of America is like walking through cable, 24)surfing the channels.

 

Modern malls have developed an amazing 25)arsenal of new devices to attract consumers—thrill rides, special events, 26)extravagant theming and interactive retail experiences.

 

Joe Pine(Co-author, The Experience Economy): If you look at the history of economic progress, we’ve moved from an 27)agrarian economy, based on 28)commodities, to an industrial economy based on goods, to a service-based economy. Today, what we’re doing is, we’re moving to an experience economy, where what consumers want are experiences; memorable events that engage them in an 29)inherently personal way. 

 

Watts Wacker(Futurist): Retail has come to realize the power of new and different. And I think people today really know that, when they go to a mall, they’re going to have a unique experience with many 30)stimuli that are different than they’ve ever seen before, even though the goods themselves may not be. 

 

注释:

1) notion [5nEuFEn] n. 观念, 想法

2) suburban [sE5bE:bEn] a. 郊外的, 偏远的

3) electrify [i5lektrifai] v. 使激动

4) exotic [i^5zCtik] a. 外来的, 奇异的

5) enclose [in5klEuz] v. 围住,包住

6) inspiration [7inspE5reiFEn] n. 灵感

7) arcade [B:5keid] n. 拱廊, 有拱廊的街道

8) enclosure [in5klEuVE] n. 围起来的场地

9) dramatic [drE5mAtik] a. 激动人心的,戏剧性的

10) orchestrate [5C:kistreit] v. 使和谐地结合起来

11) intensity [in5tensiti] n. 强烈, 强度

12) empower [im5pauE] v. 授权与, 使能够

13) purchase [5pE:tFEs] v. 购买

14) mobility [mEu5biliti] n. 灵活性,能动性

15) dot [dCt] v. 在……上打点

16) braggadocio [brA^E5dEuFiEu] n. 自吹自擂

17) darn it =damn it  该死的,可恶

18) tornado [tC:5neidEu] n. 旋风, 龙卷风

19) amusement [E5mju:zmEnt] n. 娱乐, 消遣

20) dynamite [5dainEmait] a. 超众的

21) evocation [7evEu5keiFEn] n. 唤出, 唤起

22) draw in 引诱; 使加入

23) have a ball <美俚>尽情作乐,狂欢

24) surf [sE:f] v. 在……冲浪

25) arsenal [5B:sinl] n. 库,任何事物的集成

26) extravagant [iks5trAvE^Ent] a. 过分的

27) agrarian [E5^rZEriEn] a. 耕地的

28) commodity [kE5mCditi] n. 日用品;农产品

29) inherently [in5hiErEntli] ad. 天性地, 固有地

30) stimuli [5stimulai] n. 刺激,刺激物(stimulus的复数形式)

 

 

精彩纷呈的超级商城

 

宁静的近郊购物中心这一概念丢掉,21世纪的商城是引人入胜的零售舞台。这是一处令你目不暇接的地方,这是一处令你感受社区生活的地方。商城本身就是一项全方位的消费体验。现在是商城的天下。

于1956年开业的南代尔是美国首个全封闭式的商城。建筑师维多托·古恩受欧洲购物廊的启发,想出了一个能妥善解决明尼苏达州冬天严寒、夏天酷热的问题的办法。

 

玛格丽特·廓尔特(哈佛大学城市学家):南代尔的出现是商城历史上的一个关键时刻,它把提供商品或服务的零散户外店铺集中在一个可控温的室内,这的确改变了购物的本质和整个体验。封闭的商城室内环境营造出一种更奇妙、更热烈的氛围。建筑师、设计师和发展商开始精心营造那样和谐的气氛,创建出城市味十足的动感。商城变成一个新世界,与所处的市郊环境截然不同。去商城购物成为一种兴奋刺激的体验。

60至70年代间是美国商城的腾飞时代。经历了女性解放运动后的女性突显其购买能力及流动性,消费地位也得到提高。到了80年代,举目皆是如出一辙的购物商城。商城的经营模式必须有所突破。

 

现代商城——“美国商城

 

美国商城开业后,公众为之欢呼喝彩。每星期有近90万名游人前来,就像有一座新的城市拔地而起一样。

美国商城有四条不同主题的购物廊,形成一座三层高的长方形建筑物,围在中间的是占地七英亩的主题公园——诺特史诺比开心乐园。美国商城是美国第一旅游热点,游人数目超过迪士尼乐园、大峡谷和猫王故居的总和。

 

卡罗尔·马宁(明尼苏达州大学流行文化历史学家):这类商城能驰名天下其中一个原因是全靠自吹自擂。我们这里虽然很冷,但我们拥有面积超过83个足球场的商城。虽然夏天还有龙卷风,但是我们有全球最大室内游乐场。

 

埃里克·纳尔逊(圣·奥拉夫大学英语教授):单是美国商城这名称已经是一个非凡的卖点。单是这个名称便能勾起人们对美国国旗和标志,以及地方宽敞宏大的联想。

 

游客:我们问过孩子们,若任由他们选择,他们想去哪里玩?他们说想再来美国商城,因为这里有很多玩意。看得出来,他们就是喜欢那里,他们玩得很开心。

 

这是一个你可穿越其中的幻想世界。有人把商城比作可以穿梭其中的电视。逛美国商城就像在穿越有线电视,在各频道上冲浪。

现代商城派生出一个以各种新设施吸引顾客的神奇宝库:过山车,特别表演,美轮美奂的主题布置以及互动购物体验。

 

乔·派恩(《体验型经济》合著者):回顾经济发展的历史,我们由以农产品为基础的农业经济发展到基于批量生产商品的工业经济,然后再到服务为基准的经济。现在我们正走向体验型经济,顾客所要的是从难忘活动中所得到的各种个人体验。

 

瓦特·威克(未来学家):零售商已经渐渐明白到新颖和别具一格的力量。我想现代人都意识到,当他们去商城时,祈望得到的是一种从未有过的独特的刺激体验,即使商品平平无奇也没关系。

 

 

 

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/crazy/4/26436.html