CNN 2009-11-30

WHITFIELD: Black Friday specials longer hours at the stores online deals. Will they add up to a boost¹ to merchants' bottom lines and of course, the economy? CNN's Sean Callebs is at a Wal-Mart in Marietta, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT² (on camera): Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. It got off to a very hectic³ start here at Wal-Mart. A lot of people came in early this morning. Around 5:00 Eastern time in search of great deals.

They had flat screen TVs less than $300. Blu-ray disk players that were incredibly cheap, laptop computers and of course, the most popular video games. That's what brought people out.

What Wal-Mart and other stores want is once people come out for those great deals, they want them to load up their cart, like you can see here with just about anything else they can think of. And here on the electronic section, it has been one of the busiest areas throughout the day. And what we're hearing from managers here at this Wal-Mart is this has been a very, very busy start to the holiday shopping season.

We don't know how it's going to fare across the nation but they say this one store has done extremely well. We know what happened last year, too, big crush⁴ of humanity⁵ people trying to crash in a Wal- Mart in Long Island, New York. Well, they tried to make sure that didn't happen again this year. So Wal-Mart went to great lengths to make sure there was security⁶ in place and they had lines about 20 different lines where people could buy TVs or the computers or whatever. We talked to one individual who got in line. I think he waited seven hours to buy a laptop. Listen why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here all night. I was trying to find out, I was trying to figure out if I could get a good deal and maybe, you know, hit the nail on the head.

CALLEBS: If you want that one item, you got to come out early. And we have this word of warning. While supplies last. This popular GPS item is moving quickly but what we're told is the distribution⁷ center is told, look we're running low on this. They stock⁸ up so if you come in looking for it tomorrow, it should be here.

Sean Callebs, CNN in Marietta, Georgia.
 

1 boost   

n.鼓励，激励，提高；v.鼓励，使增强信心

参考例句：

• This will be a great boost to the economy.这对于经济发展将是一个巨大的促进。
• These changes will help to boost share prices.这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

2 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

3 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

4 crush   

v.压垮，压倒，压服，镇压；压碎，碾碎

参考例句：

• This machine is made to crush the rock into powder.这台机器是用来把石头压成碎末的。
• You can't crush so many people into the classroom.不能让这么多人挤进教室。

5 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

6 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

7 distribution   

n.运送；分发，分配；分布，分布状态

参考例句：

• The conference discussed the fair distribution of income and wealth.会议讨论了公平分配收入和财富的问题。
• Unequal distribution of wealth may cause division in society.财富分配不均会引起社会分裂。

8 stock   

n.存货，储备；树干；血统；股份；家畜；adj.存货的；平凡的，惯用的；股票的；畜牧的；vt.进货，采购；储存；供给；vi.出新芽；进货

参考例句：

• The shop takes stock every week on Friday mornings.这家商店每星期五早晨盘点存货。
• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。