2020購物英語日記

　　China has 271 million online consumers, meaning that almost half of China's 591 million Internet users buy products online. E-commerce sites Taobao and Tmall, which saw a combined $$1 trillion in sales in 20xx, will both be running promotional campaigns during China's Singles' Day. Among the offers: 50 percent discounts on products like boyfriend body pillows and hoodies that read "I am single because I am fat." Amazon。cn declared that the site would sell "20,000 products discounted by as much as 90 percent." That includes a wedding ring, which singles can presumably buy, just in case.

　　中國有2億7100萬網絡消費者，這意味著中國的5億9100萬網民中有近半數在網上購物。如淘寶和天貓的網購網站，在20xx年銷售量加在一起有1萬億美元。這兩家網站都會在中國的光棍節這天發起促銷活動，他們的促銷策略是相關商品的五折優惠、比如“男朋友抱枕”、上書“我肉多所以我單身”的套頭衫等。亞馬遜網稱將該站上將有“2萬件商品1折優惠”，這其中包括結婚戒指——也許單身人士會買一只來以備日后可用。

　　Jack Ma, founder of Internet giant Alibaba, told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang late last month that Alibaba's sales on Singles' Day 20xx were "nearly $$3.3 billion" -- more than double the roughly $$1.5 billion purchased on Cyber Monday in 20xx. For Singles' Day 20xx, Ma expects sales to exceed $$4.9 billion.

　　網絡巨頭阿里巴巴的創始人馬云在10月底會見總理的時候曾對總理坦言，20xx年光棍節期間，阿里巴巴的銷售量有“近33億美元”——比20xx年美國的“網購禮拜一”創下的約15億美元銷售量翻了一番。對20xx年的光棍節，馬云預測銷售量將突破49億。

　　The rise of singletons as a consumer group is not without its own costs. Chinese business magazine Caijing reported that big delivery companies were forced to scramble to find over 100 extra airplanes to handle the 323 million parcels they needed to deliver over the Singles' Day shopping period.

　　消費者群體中單身族的崛起并不是沒有代價的。據《中國財經雜志》報道，在光棍節期間，為了處理3億2300萬份包裹，許多大型物流公司需要籌措超過100臺貨運飛機四處奔走。

　　The holiday strains the logistics system: Products frequently sell out or arrive late. Even when everything moves smoothly, consumers complain about commercial gimmicks. According to the Beijing Evening News, a popular local paper, some online retailers quietly raise prices before slashing them.

　　光棍節期間物流系統往往問題百出：商品常常已經斷貨或者送貨延期。就算物流系統一切正常，網購公司的銷售貓膩也常常引起消費者不滿。根據北京一家知名報刊《北京晚報》報道，許多在線零售商都會先抬高商品價格，然后再鼓吹降價銷售。

　　But Chinese have not forgotten about the true meaning of this holiday: hating singlehood. Singles' Day is an occasion on which Chinese confess their feelings and try to find significant others. On Nov. 7, with four days to go before the holiday, the top trending topic on Weibo, China's Twitter, was "Help Your Roommate Find Someone." Over 200,000 people participated in the discussion, posting pictures of their roommates (and sometimes themselves) in hopes of avoiding another lonely Singles' Day.

　　但是中國人也沒有忘記這個節日的真正含義：厭倦單身。光棍節正是中國人承認自己對單身狀態的厭倦，試著尋覓到另一半的日子。在11月7日光棍節前4天，微博（中國版的推特）上最熱門的話題就是“為你的室友找到另一半”。超過20萬人參與了討論，上傳自己室友的照片（有時就是自己的照片），希望能在光棍節前結束單身。

　　Chinese are no strangers to loneliness: There are tens of millions of men in China who may never find love due to the country's massive gender imbalance, a result of the One Child Policy and a longstanding preference for male children. Chinese women don't have it easy either: Those who remain unmarried at the ripe old age of 27 risk being labeled "leftover women".

　　孤單對于中國人來說并不陌生：由于中國長期實行計劃生育政策，以及長久以來重男輕女的子女偏好，中國的性別比例嚴重失衡，有數以百萬的中國男子也許一輩子都不會找到伴侶。中國女性的情況也不容樂觀：那些在27歲的“熟女”年齡之后還未婚的女性會被貼上“剩女”的標簽。

　　Although poverty and singledom are often linked outcomes in China, at least one web user was sure of which was worse. "Spending Singles' Day alone isn't that scary," he wrote. "What's scary is when you're so poor you can't even enjoy Taobao's ‘Double 11.'" Retail therapy indeed.

　　雖然在中國“貧窮”和“單身”往往是相互聯系的，但網民們知道前者比后者更糟糕。如一位中國網民所說的，“一個人過光棍節并不可怕，可怕的是你沒錢去參加淘寶的‘雙11’慶典。”