VOA常速英语2007年-US Holiday Shopping Season Starts Amid Recessio

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
23 November 2007

It's the day after the annual Thanksgiving holiday in the United States when Americans hit the shopping malls in search of special bargains that mark the start of the holiday shopping season. This day is significant for what it indicates about the U.S. economy, which is struggling with a declining housing market, record high gas and oil prices and recession fears. From Washington, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Shoppers began lining¹ up outside department and electronics stores in early hours of the morning Friday to take advantage of retailer's deep discounts on everything from clothes to big-screen televisions.

"I'm in line 17 hours beforehand because I'm going to be saving two-and-a-half months worth of money in rent," said this shopper.

Retailers³ call the day after Thanksgiving "Black Friday" because the traditional surge in shopping turns many of their account ledgers⁴ from "red" - indicating a deficit⁵ - to "black" - showing a profit.

But while Black Friday is expected by some analysts⁷ to be the busiest day of the season, it is not a predictor of how retailers will fare overall in the holiday season.

"They are going to come out early and buy, take advantage of the sales, and then go away and sit on their wallets for a while," said retail² analyst⁶ Wendy Liebman.

Last year, retailers had a good start during the Thanksgiving weekend, but struggled in the countdown to the Christmas holiday in late December. This year, analysts expect sales gains to be the weakest in five years, as shoppers worry about a declining housing market, rising oil and gas prices, a weak dollar and recession fears.

The United States is the biggest importer of raw materials and manufactured goods. If U.S. consumers do not open their wallets this holiday season, it will have a big impact on countries who export to the United States.

1 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 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。

3 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。

4 ledgers   

n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The ledgers and account books had all been destroyed. 分类账本和账簿都被销毁了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ledgers had all been destroyed. 账簿都被销毁了。 来自辞典例句

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。