2023年经济学人 圣诞节送礼的低效性(2)

Another Christmas inefficiency¹ for retailers³ is the fact that it comes but once a year.

对于零售商来说，圣诞节低效的另一个原因是它一年只有一次。

Gary Grant of The Entertainer, which sells toys, jokes that he would love it if festive⁴ sales were spread throughout the year rather than being crammed⁵ into the final quarter.

玩具销售商The Entertainer的加里·格兰特开玩笑说，如果全年都能进行节日销售，而不是只有每年最后一个季度，他会很高兴。

He is understaffed, he says, during the holiday season, when he expands his workforce⁶ by 50%, and then overstaffed the rest of the year.

他说，节日假期期间，公司人手不足，于是他又雇佣了50%的员工，然后在一年剩下的时间，公司又出现了人员过剩的情况。

Shipping⁷ companies, warehouse⁸ operators and sorting centers must also organise⁹ themselves to meet peak demand; that can mean unused capacity at quieter times of the year.

航运公司、仓库管理人员和分拣中心也必须组织起来，以满足节日高峰期的服务需求；这可能意味着淡季会出现供给过剩。

Data from Metapack, a logistics software company, suggest that in December the volume of posted parcels is more than double the level in September.

物流软件公司Metapack的数据显示，12月份邮寄的包裹数量是9月份的两倍多。

Over time, it does seem that consumers are spreading their spending a little more thinly across the year.

随着时间的推移，消费者全年支出似乎分摊得更细了。

In 1986 25% of the year's spending on clothing was in November and December.

1986年，11月和12月服装消费的支出占一年的25%。

In 2019 the share was 22%.

2019年，这一比例为22%。

Seasonality¹¹ in retail² spending, which includes restaurants, is also falling.

包括餐馆在内的季节性零售支出的也在下降。

Seasonal¹⁰ employment as a share of the total between October and December has been decreasing since 1997, according to the Office for National Statistics.

根据英国国家统计局的数据，自1997年以来，从事季节性就业的人数占总就业人数的比例自1997年以来一直在下降。

A new study by Mr. Waldfogel found that since 2000 growth in the American economy has been associated with a smaller seasonal bump in December's retail sales.

沃德弗格的一项新研究发现，自2000年以来，与美国经济增长相关的12月份零售额的季节性增长幅度越来越小。

While some dream of white Christmases, others may yearn¹² for mandatory¹³ exchanges of cash, or even a mechanism¹⁴ to randomly¹⁵ allocate¹⁶ the celebrations evenly across months of the year.

虽然一些人梦想着白色圣诞节的到来，还有一些人渴望强制交换现金作为礼物，甚至渴望形成一种机制，将庆祝活动随机分配到一年中的某几个月。

Much would be lost if such a system were adopted, not least the joy that can accompany the exchange of carefully (if badly) chosen presents.

如果真的采用这样的制度，我们会失去很多东西，尤其是快乐，它可以伴随我们交换精心挑选的礼物（虽然我们可能品味不好）的全过程。

But creating a fresh batch¹⁷ of unintended consequences for economists¹⁸ to analyse might yield some happy returns.

但由此创造一批意想不到的新推论供经济学家分析，可能会带来一些令人满意的回报。

1 inefficiency   

n.无效率，无能；无效率事例

参考例句：

• Conflict between management and workers makes for inefficiency in the workplace. 资方与工人之间的冲突使得工厂生产效率很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This type of inefficiency arises because workers and management are ill-equipped. 出现此种低效率是因为工人与管理层都能力不足。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

5 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

8 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

9 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

10 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

11 seasonality   

季节性

参考例句：

• a high degree of climatic seasonality 明显的季节性气候变化
• Confinement. Seasonality of tourist trade, animals often 'contracted' to work. 限制，在旅游旺季时，动物们通常都得被迫“上工”。 来自互联网

12 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

13 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

14 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

15 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

16 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

17 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

18 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》