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Eight Tips for Surviving Black Friday
If you're celebrating Thanksgiving today, you might be considering venturing out to the Black Friday sales tomorrow morning. After all, there will be at least a few great deals—and you can do all your holiday gift shopping in one crazy sprint. In order to make it out with your sanity—and your wallet—intact, there are a few Black Friday tips I'd like to share.
1. Make Your Shopping List First
When I was little, I could sit for hours with the Black Friday ads (especially Toys R Us), telling whoever was listening that I wanted pretty much everything on each page. I may have grown out of Toys R Us, but I still see plenty I want flipping through the sales papers. Sometimes, I can even convince myself that I really need some great gadget（小玩意兒）that I hadn't actually intended to buy. So, before I even start browsing through the sales papers, I make a list of items that I'm particularly looking for. While I might adapt my list to what's on sale—maybe swap out a movie title or choose a different video game based on what is available.
2. Check the Online Deals
Many retailers offer online deals for Black Friday. When you add in gas money and the time you might spend standing in line on Friday morning, online sales are even better. Before you brave the crowds, take a look at your favorite websites—and the stores you're planning to visit. Many sales will kick in at midnight, so you'll be able to check no matter how early you're planning on getting in line at the local big box retailer. For some stores, you can order items online and pay the Black Friday price, then pick them up at your local store.
3. Pick a Shopping Buddy Who Will Match Your Pace
My mother will be getting up at 4 a.m. Friday morning. While I admire her dedication, her Black Friday will be much longer than mine. I prefer to shop at a more comfortable pace, though, so I'll be going with a different shopping buddy. My mom and my sister—both power shoppers—are much happier pairing up and letting the slow poke (that's me) go on my own. I do think that having a buddy does make the whole process much easier, though: one person can stand in line while the other person grabs whatever is on the list. Even better, a buddy can help you stick to your list and your budget, avoiding unnecessary spending.
4. Bring Your Ads with You
There's a chance that your discounted item may not ring up as on sale when you actually get up to the cash register. Instead of trying to recall exactly what the sale paper said, pull that ad out and ask the clerk to double check it. You can avoid confusion by carrying your ads with you—and, if you go to a store with a price-matching policy, you may be able to get the same prices that another store is offering. If you're relying on ads you found online, you might have a harder time getting a deal, though. Some stores won't even honor the prices listed on their own websites. Printing off the ad can help you convince a clerk, but it's not guaranteed.
5. Be Prepared for Returns
Returns policies seem to get tighter every year, and they can be worse for Black Friday. For some items, stores may have only a short return policy—and they may charge you a restocking fee. If you aren't sure if you've bought the right size(or are otherwise considering a return), plan on making your return as soon as possible. Keep your receipt handy and pick up gift receipts where necessary.
6. Use Your Credit Card
Normally, I'm against using a credit card for most purchases. It's too easy to run up a big bill, but there are some definite benefits to using plastic on Black Friday. Many credit card companies have much better return protection than stores: a purchase made on your credit card may have guaranteed refund up to 90 days. Credit cards often offer warranty coverage for free on purchases—a much better deal than most of the service contracts offered by stores. Lastly, some cards offer sale price protection. If the price of your purchase is marked down further than the price you paid within a certain time frame, you can get a refund of the difference.
7. Forget the Big Electronics
If you're planning to find a great deal on an HDTV on Black Friday, I'm afraid that you're out of luck. Even on Black Friday, it's rare to see much in the way of sales on big ticket electronics. The small sales are generally just not worth the hassle of trying to get a sales person to help you with anything time intensive when they're getting slammed with hundreds of shoppers.
8. Skip It Entirely
There's nothing wrong with skipping the Black Friday sales. If there's nothing on sale that you're interested in, why bother? The entire day is set up to let retailers sell as much stuff as they can—to take as much of your money as they can. But there's no better place for your money than in your wallet or bank account. So, stay Home, relax and take advantage of your leftovers. You'll be saving money even if you wind up making a few full price purchases down the road.
1. While the author looks through the sales papers, she may _____.
A. make a shopping list
B. make change on her shopping list
C. stick to her shopping list
D. prefer a new video game
2. You can buy items online and then get them at the local store _____.
A. with Black Friday price
B. at midnight
C. with full price
D. as early as possible
3. The author's mother prefers shopping with her sister because the author _____.
A. is not good at shopping
B. prefers to shop alone
C. is slow
D. is too powerful
4. When shopping, it is better to bring the ads with you because _____.
A. some item on it may not be on sale yet
B. you can get discount by it
C. cashier wants to check it
D. it can be paid for discounted item
5. To get a deal for discounted items easily, it is better to _____.
A. pay by your credit card
B. visit different stores before buying
C. ask the clerks for help
D. print off the ads you found online
6. For items with short return policy, you have a risk of paying for _____.
A. damage fee
B. restocking fee
C. tax
D. transportation fee
7. The author suggests people use a credit card, which usually can guarantee a(n) _____ refund period.
A. 60-day
B. 80-day
C. 90-day
D. 50-day
8. You can't find a great deal on an HDTV on Black Friday because it is unnecessary for the stores to hassle for _____.
9. Skipping the Black Friday sales means you are _____.
10. In order to help you spend your money more reasonably on Black Friday, the author shares a few _____.
文章精要：
本文的作者給要在黑色星期五購物的人們提出了八條建議，幫助人們更容易買到物美價(jià)廉的商品。（注：“黑色星期五”是美國感恩節(jié)后第一天，標(biāo)志傳統(tǒng)圣誕節(jié)購物季的開始。）
答案解析：
1. B 由題干中的the sales papers定位到第一個(gè)小標(biāo)題下。文章指出，作者在瀏覽促銷廣告單之前，會(huì)先列一個(gè)購物清單，但她會(huì)根據(jù)促銷商品的情況來調(diào)整購物清單的內(nèi)容。故本題選B。
2. A 由題干信息詞at the local store定位到第二個(gè)小標(biāo)題下的最后一句。該段講到，有些商店開通網(wǎng)上服務(wù)，可以先在網(wǎng)上訂貨，物價(jià)和黑色星期五那天的一樣，然后到你附近的實(shí)體店提貨，故A正確。
3. C 根據(jù)題干信息詞mother可定位到文章第三個(gè)小標(biāo)題下的第四句。文章提到，我媽媽和妹妹都是購物狂，她們喜歡搭伴購物，但嫌我太慢，讓我自己去，故C正確。
4. A 根據(jù)題干信息詞bring和ads定位到第四個(gè)小標(biāo)題下的前兩句。文章談到，如果你去購物，最好隨身攜帶著那些廣告，因?yàn)橛袝r(shí)打折商品與宣傳單上的促銷信息不一致，故選A。
5. D 根據(jù)題干信息詞discounted items可定位到第四個(gè)小標(biāo)題。文章指出，如果你指望網(wǎng)站上的廣告，你可能很難買到物美價(jià)廉的商品，最好將廣告打印出來，這樣也許能說服售貨員把東西按廣告上的價(jià)格賣給你，但這種方法并不能保證讓你買到便宜的商品，故選D。
6. B 根據(jù)題干信息詞short return policy可定位到第五個(gè)小標(biāo)題下的第二句。文章提到，退換政策越來越嚴(yán)格了，尤其是一些退換期比較短的商品，商家可能還要收取再度庫存費(fèi)，故本題選B。
7. C 根據(jù)題干信息詞credit card和refund可定位到第六個(gè)小標(biāo)題下的第三句。文章提到，在黑色星期五購物時(shí)用信用卡付款有一定的好處，那就是很多信用卡提供長達(dá)90天的退款期，故本題選C。
8. the small sales。由題干信息詞hassle定位到第七個(gè)小標(biāo)題下第三句。文章提到，如果你想在黑色星期五買到合適的高清電視的話，那你可能不走運(yùn)了，因?yàn)樵谀且惶旌苌倌芸吹较耠娮赢a(chǎn)品這樣的大型商品的促銷活動(dòng)，商店不可能不顧其他大量顧客，而為了那么一丁點(diǎn)兒銷售額派專門的銷售人員來做大量的宣傳，故得答案the small sales。
9. saving money。根據(jù)題干信息詞skipping可定位到第八個(gè)小標(biāo)題下第一句。文中提到，如果你沒有買到稱心的東西，也不要煩惱，就當(dāng)你在省錢了，故得答案saving money。
10. shopping tips。本題考查全文主旨。根據(jù)題干信息詞Black Friday可定位到首段最后一句。文章指出，為了幫助人們在黑色星期五那天更理智地購買物超所值的東西，作者與大家分享了一些購物注意事項(xiàng)，故答案為shopping tips。
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