双语新闻：世界末日论给应急准备行业带来商机

2012-12-21 00:00:00来源：新东方网

　　For $100,000, Ron Hubbard will build an underground backyardbunker complete with a sofa, television, five beds and an escapehatch -- a hot seller recently thanks to theories that, on Friday, the world will end.

　　只要10万美元，哈伯德(Ron Hubbard)就能为你在你家后院建造一个地下掩体，里面配有沙发、电视、五张床和一个逃生出口──多亏了有关本周五就是世界末日的理论，这项业务近来销售火爆。

　　Hundreds, if not thousands of people across the world are preparing for a series of doomsdayscenarios this month, including, most famously, the theory that the ancient Mayans predicted theapocalypse for Dec. 21, 2012.

　　本月，世界各地有数百乃至数千人在准备迎接一系列末日景象，其中最出名的理论是，按照古代玛雅人的预测，2012年12月21日是世界末日。

　　'I'm going to ride the wave as long as I can because come Dec. 22, it's all over,' Mr. Hubbard saidwith a Texas twang, referring not to the end of the world, but his sales boom. His Montebello, Calif., company, Atlas Survival Shelters, has sold about 50 bunkers in the past three months -- up from 25 in the year prior.

　　哈伯德带着得克萨斯特色的浓重鼻音说，我要尽可能地利用这波浪潮，因为到12月22号一切就完了。他指的并不是世界末日这回事，而是他的销售热潮。他位于加州蒙特贝罗(Montebello)的公司“阿特拉斯生存者避难所”(Atlas Survival Shelters)过去三个月里出售了大约50个掩体──而去年总共才卖掉了25个。

　　Business is booming this year for companies that sell survival gear, freeze-dried food andunderground bunkers as concerns grow over an economic collapse, natural disasters or adoomsday on the horizon.

　　由于人们越来越担心经济崩溃、自然灾害或世界末日即将来临，出售救生装备、冻干食品和地下掩体的公司今年业务兴旺。

　　Jeff Mann of Geneva, Fla., who runs three websites that sell freeze-dried food, said customers -- mostly conservatives concerned about the economy -- spent nearly $400,000 to buy theequivalent of eight truckloads of the prepackaged meals in the week after President Obama's re-election, cleaning out his inventory.

　　佛罗里达州日内瓦县(Geneva)的曼恩(Jeff Mann)经营着三个出售冻干食品的网站。他说在美国总统奥巴马成功连任之后的一周时间里，他的库存被抢购一空，客户(大多数都是担心经济状况的保守人士)花了近40万美元，购买了能装满八辆货车的预先包装的食品。

　　Mountain House, one of the largest freeze-dried-food suppliers, said sales of food with 25 years ofshelf life have increased 14-fold since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, increasing to half the company'sbusiness from 6.5%. This month, the Albany, Ore., company had its best week ever, selling about 60,000 of its popular #10 cans -- which are the size of a large coffee can -- including freeze-driedTurkey Tetrazzini for $37 or cottage cheese for $65.

　　最大的冻干食品供应商之一Mountain House说，自2005年飓风“卡特里娜”袭击以来，保质期长达25年的食品的销量增长了13倍，在该公司业务中的占比从6.5%上升至一半。这家位于俄勒冈州阿尔巴尼(Albany)的公司本月经历了史上销售最旺的一个星期，卖出了大约6万只深受欢迎的10号罐头(大小相当于一个大号咖啡罐)，冻干脆皮火鸡罐头售价37美元，白软干酪罐头售价65美元。

　　Even Costco Wholesale Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its subsidiary, Sam's Club, have recentlyentered the market. Each offers a wide variety of food-storage products, including a year's supplyof shelf-stable food for one person for $900 to $3,100.

　　就连好市多(Costco Wholesale Corp.)、沃尔玛(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)及其下属的山姆会员店(Sam'sClub)最近也进入了这一市场。这些公司都提供了种类繁多的耐贮藏食品，包括可供一个人吃一年的耐储存食品，价格从900美元到3,100美元不等。

　　For Costco, sales in the category have increased by triple digits this year compared with 2011, saidMike Dorpat, who heads Costco's food-buying departments. After adding the first food-storageproduct in 2008, he said the company 'immediately saw a category our members were interestedin,' and since then, 'we've expanded this a great deal.'

　　好市多食品采购部门的负责人多尔帕特(Mike Dorpat)说，今年该公司这类产品的销售额较2011年增幅为三位数字。他说，2008年首次增加耐储存食品后，公司马上发现了客户会有兴趣的一类产品，在那之后就在这方面大力扩张。

　　The size of the emergency-preparedness industry is difficult to calculate; the vast majority of theplayers are closely held and some of the top goods -- batteries, canned food, flashlights -- arehousehold items. But about a dozen companies interviewed said they have enjoyed recent surgesin sales, and independent analyses of their Web traffic confirm interest has peaked in recentmonths -- partly fueled by popular television shows about 'preppers,' or survivalists.

　　应急准备行业的规模难以计算;这个行业内的大多数公司都是私人持股的，而一些最重要的应急商品──比如电池、罐头食品、手电筒──都是家庭日常用品。但大约十几家接受采访的公司说，它们的销售额最近出现猛增，对这些公司网站流量的独立分析也证实了最近几个月人们对它们的兴趣最为浓厚，在一定程度上这是受到有关“末日准备族”或生存主义者的流行电视节目推动。

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