Learn English with News | Advanced Reading Lesson (BLACK FRIDAY NEWS)

Do you want to feel more confident reading in English?

Well, that's exactly what we'll do today, because we're going to read a news article

together.

So by the end of this lesson, you feel a lot

more confident reading in English.

Welcome back to JForrest English, of course.

I'm Jennifer now.

Let's get started.

1st I'll read the.

Headline The Stores snubbing Black Friday.

'S Mega sales.

We're talking about black.

Friday.

Now you might be wondering, well, what does it mean to snub?

So let's.

Talk about this.

Here snub.

Is a verb.

And when you snub someone, or in this case something, you insult them and you do that

by not giving them any attention.

So the stores.

Are insulting Black Friday by not participating, by not offering any sales.

To be honest, we more commonly use the verb snub with a person.

For example, if rashes snubbed me, it means she didn't give me any attention and therefore

I felt insulted.

So maybe, I said.

Oh, hey, Rasha.

And she just kept on walking.

Or she maybe gave me a head nod and then kept on walking and I felt insulted.

So put.

In the comments, I wouldn't snub you Jennifer, to mean that if I say.

Hi, you would say.

Hi right back now remember you can use this with someone.

I wouldn't snub you, but you can also use this with a something like black.

Friday, so you could say.

I wouldn't snub.

Your videos.

So that means if.

You saw a.

Notification for my.

Video.

And you just said that's not going to be good.

You ignored my video and therefore you insulted me.

So don't.

Do that I.

Wouldn't snub your videos, Jennifer?

Put that in the comments And don't worry about taking these notes because I summarize everything

in a free lesson PDF.

You can look in the description to download it.

So our topic is the stores.

Snubbing black.

Fridays Mega sales.

Mega means really?

Big, really big sales.

Of course the.

Sales you find on Black Friday Many.

Retailers.

Flaunt rock bottom.

Prices the day.

After Thanksgiving, when you flaunt something, it means you intentionally advertise that

something, intentionally means you do it on purpose, and you do it in a way.

That others admire.

It so in this case the retailers that means the.

Stores the stores.

Flaunt.

They advertise their rock.

Bottom Prices rock.

Bottom means the lowest.

Possible level, so the lowest possible price that you'll buy this TV for.

They flaunt it, they.

Advertise it.

In a way that makes you say.

Oh.

That's awesome.

I really want that so in a store.

Context.

This is a good thing, but we frequently use this in a negative.

Way to describe people.

For example my.

Sister, Always.

Flaunts her big bonuses.

So she.

Advertises her bonuses.

Oh look.

How much money I made.

Oh, look at this Fancy.

Shirt I bought.

Look at my nice.

Jewelry I bought.

With my big bonus, So we do it more in a negative way when someone flaunts something, so just

keep that in mind.

Many retailers flaunt rock bottom prices the day after Thanksgiving.

But others opt out of the.

Shopping frenzy.

When you opt out of something, it means you don't participate in it.

So other retailers, other stores are?

Opting out?

Of Black Friday.

They're not participating in it OPT.

Out of the.

Shopping Frenzy.

A frenzy is exactly what you see in this picture.

It's uncontrolled.

But excited behavior.

So everyone is.

Very excited because they're.

Getting this TV for.

$100 80% off, but it's also uncontrolled.

They're probably going to.

Push each.

Other They're going to grab at things, so it's uncontrolled but excited, not necessarily

a positive thing.

For example, there was a frenzy after the team won A.

World Cup.

The World Cup.

Not all World Cup.

Because there's only one, so the.

World Cup Are you enjoying this lesson?

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Are then I want to tell you about the finally Fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where we study native English speakers from TV,

the movies, YouTube.

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Now let's.

Continue with our lesson.

Ethics, image, and margins all play a part in the calculus.

So margins, This is another word for.

Profit.

Profit is.

The money.

The store.

Earns from selling a television product.

Or service.

But it's after expenses.

Let's continue.

For many shoppers, Black Friday kicks off the zenith of the shopping season.

Here kick.

Off This means start, so black.

Friday starts the.

Zenith.

Notice the pronunciation.

We have that long EZ Zenith.

Zenith, the zenith of the shopping season.

It means.

The highest.

Point so black.

Friday is the best.

Shopping.

Day for retailers is the.

Day they make most of their money.

That's the zenith of the shopping season in the US, nearly 73 million.

People visited A.

Brick and mortar store Brick and mortar.

That's a way of.

Describing a physical.

Store because a physical store.

Is made.

Out of bricks and mortar.

So that's.

Where the expression comes from?

It's a physical store during 2020's.

Thanksgiving holiday weekend with billions spent online too, I wrote.

That here for you physical.

Store Brick and mortar store.

Now, I haven't asked you yet.

Are you?

Opting in?

Or out of Black Friday.

Remember, if you opt out of Black Friday, it means you're not participating in Black

Friday.

But if you're opting into.

Black Friday you are.

Participating, so you're.

Going to go to the store or.

Online and buy things so.

You can put.

Opt in.

Or opt out.

In the comments to let me know if you're going to participate.

OK, let's continue every year, Shoppers.

Mob stores for Steep.

Markdowns to mob A.

Store.

That's when you form.

A very large group, but that group.

Could be formed for admiration interest.

Or.

Anger.

So a mob or two mob can be.

A.

Positive thing or it can turn into a negative violent.

Thing as well, which sometimes happens on Black Friday.

So this is.

Also an example of people mobbing the store.

They're.

Going to the store as a very large.

Group and there's.

A lot of.

High emotion involved, you can probably understand.

It's easy.

For this.

Situation to turn more negative now.

It says.

Every year, Shoppers Mom.

Stores for Steep.

Markdowns.

So in this case, a markdown is a discounted price.

So it went.

From 100.

Dollars to.

$90.00 That's a markdown, but a steep markdown is a highly discounted price.

So from $100 to 20?

Dollars, so 80.

Percent off that would.

Be a steep.

Markdown.

Widely circulated.

Videos on social media often highlight the chaos wrought on stores themselves.

Wrought on is not very common and you likely won't use it in your vocabulary, but just

so you understand what it means, it means.

Caused by, so chaos is.

When there is.

A lot of.

Uncontrollables like in this situation people are acting chaotically.

This situation you could.

Describe it as.

Having a lot.

Of chaos.

Now the stores the highlight the chaos.

Rot on stores themselves.

So it was this chaos is caused by the stores because.

They're the ones who are advertising 80% off, so they're going to give some examples.

Of the chaos.

Display banners torn down.

When something is torn down, it is taken from.

The surface, like the wall.

But in a very disorganized.

Way so you just tear.

It down torn down shelves.

Stripped bare, Stripped bare.

Means they've taken everything off.

The shelf.

So you see a shelf where there were supposed to be.

Televisions.

And there's nothing there.

You just see a torn down banner and even occasional spats of violence.

A spat of violence simply means a small period of violence.

But some retailers?

Balk at black.

Friday's consumerism culture.

Let's talk about to.

Balk balk awk balk that L.

Is silent balk balk?

Some retailers balk at black.

Friday's Consumerism culture.

When you.

Balk at something you're unwilling to do it and you usually have the reaction like.

No.

So if let's say I was.

Buying a new car and I went.

To the dealer.

And.

I saw this car.

And I liked it.

But then they.

Told me the price and I.

I balked.

At the price and I said I'm not paying that are.

You crazy?

Because I thought it was way too.

Expensive.

Now you could also.

Balk.

At doing something I.

Balked at the idea.

Of working on.

Saturdays, so A.

Client asked me oh, can you do this project on?

Saturday, Saturday.

No.

I'm not doing that.

I'm not working on Saturday.

So just your strong negative reaction to something.

That shows your unwillingness.

To do it, that is you.

Balking at the idea A.

Few retailers.

Don't open at all.

So this is an example of them opting out.

Of Black Friday.

Not only are they not offering a discount, a markdown, they're closing, They're not even

opening.

A few retailers.

Don't open at all.

For some brands, the decision is motivated by their corporate values and image.

Retailers that appeal.

To Environmentally and socially conscious shoppers often don't feed this frenzy.

For profit.

So remember the frenzy?

That's.

This, this chaos.

Right this frenzy.

So this this.

Large.

Group with this.

Very strong emotion.

So you can imagine that for some brands.

They don't want this image.

Associated with their.

Brand They don't want to.

See a highlight or a news.

Headline about.

Customers getting into fights at their stores to buy the last.

Television.

Some brands just might not want that.

They might balk.

At the idea.

We're not doing that.

Beyond corporate values, a brand's image also drives this decision.

So in this.

Case the.

Brand's image drives this decision.

So it motivates.

This decision.

It's the reason why this decision was made.

So the brand's image also drives this decision.

I wrote that for you.

Would it seem out of?

Place.

For a business to.

Offer sales.

Would it devalue the brand?

To do so.

If something seems.

Out of place.

It means that it isn't appropriate.

For the.

Setting.

Here's an example, Jeremy.

Looked out of place.

Or you could.

Use seemed.

Out of place.

At the wedding.

So.

He didn't.

Look like he.

Belonged at the wedding.

Now let's look at why everyone was wearing a suit but he was wearing jeans.

So he looked out of place.

He looked like he didn't belong.

He looked inappropriate.

For this.

Specific context, of course.

Wearing jeans?

There's nothing wrong with that, but maybe a wedding isn't the.

Appropriate place.

To do that.

So because.

Of that.

He looked out of place.

So this is what a.

Store should ask them.

Would it seem out of?

Place.

For a business.

To offer sales.

Would it devalue the brand to do so?

Devalue it means to make it less valuable, for example.

Fake.

Louis Vuitton banks devalue the brands whenever I go to.

The airport.

I always notice.

How many bags and luggage?

Suitcases have the Louis.

Vuitton logo on them, but I know that probably 90% of those.

Bags are fake.

They're not actually Louis Vuitton, because Louis Vuitton is an extremely expensive brand,

but the existence of those.

Fake bags.

Makes the.

Real bag.

Less valuable because if I'm carrying a.

Real, Louis.

Vuitton bag and I look around and see.

Ten other people carrying fake Louis Vuitton bags.

It makes my.

Bag less special, so fake Louis.

Vuitton.

Bags devalued.

The brand.

This is just my personal opinion.

Maybe you don't agree.

With.

That let's continue.

Aside from reputation for some stores, Black Friday simply isn't a practical business move.

In this case, I'll move a practical business move.

Move means decision, action or.

Strategy.

It's.

Very commonly used in a business context or in the context.

Of you.

Taking action to.

Reach your goals.

Whatever that goal may be.

So when a student signs up to the Finely Fluent Academy, I might reply back and say Signing

up for the Finely Fluent Academy.

Was a great.

Move.

That was a great move, Great move.

So it means.

A great.

Decision A great strategy, a great action that you just took.

Oh, that was.

Such a great move.

Or you might say.

Signing up for the finally Fluent Academy was a great move and I have many students

on my.

Website who have said that so.

Hopefully you'll be the next one in retail marketing prevailing trends.

Show loyal.

Customers often become.

Repeat.

Customers.

Let's talk about prevailing trends.

A trend just describes how people generally.

Behave.

And prevailing means that it's existing now and.

It's accepted so.

Let me give you an example.

Trends show that Canadians.

Travel the most.

In Went in winter.

So this is how people.

Generally.

Behave so obviously.

There are many Canadians that don't travel in winter.

But this is the.

Trend generally.

People do this so if you're.

A travel company you would want to advertise to Canadians in winter because that's when

we generally travel.

Now you could say prevailing trends show that Canadians travel the most in winter.

Prevailing just makes it a little stronger.

It sounds like, well, this is taking place now and this.

Is accepted as a fact.

Right now, so you don't need to include it, it just makes it.

A little bit.

Stronger in retail marketing.

Prevailing trends show loyal customers often become repeat customers.

So this is how generally people.

Behave.

But it doesn't mean it happens in every case and offer longer.

Lifetime value to.

A brand.

They are also generally easier to maintain than constantly finding new ones.

So this is saying why a company might want to opt?

Out of Black Friday.

And instead try.

To develop loyal customers who?

Buy from you.

Regardless of sales, regardless.

Of time of year appealing to bargain hunters.

I like this line.

A bargain hunter is someone who is constantly looking for hunting for a bargain.

A bargain is when you get something for less money than it normally costs.

And I kind of laughed because generally.

Being a bargain hunter is not really considered.

A positive.

Thing some people might consider.

It, but I would say a lot of people.

Don't consider it a positive thing.

It's a little bit of an insult to call someone a bargain hunter.

It's like calling them cheap, meaning that they don't like spending money.

They'll only spend money if.

They get a.

Discount.

I wrote that for you, appealing to bargain hunters through massive Black Friday discounts.

Remember, we learned before steep markdowns you could use that because that would be a

massive discount.

A massive means really.

Large.

And that's what a steep markdown is.

So same thing Appealing to bargain hunters through massive Black Friday discounts may

even turn core shoppers.

Off.

OK, let's look at this because we have turn.

And then someone or something.

Someone Core shoppers and then off.

So let's look at this phrasal verb.

The phrasal verb is to.

Turn someone off and this is when you stomp someone from feeling interested.

But.

Very important note, this is often used in a sexual way.

You can use it in a non sexual way, but to do so you.

Just make sure the context is obvious.

If the context is not obvious, someone may interpret this.

As a sexual meaning, but in this case the context is obvious, so it.

It doesn't apply to sexual.

Relations at all.

I was going to apply for the promotion, but having to work Saturday really turned me off.

So this.

Having to work Saturday.

Caused me to not be interested in the promotion.

OK.

So remember to stop someone from feeling interested.

So discounts may even turn core shoppers off.

They might not be interested in your brand, for example Louis Vuitton or other prestigious.

Brands.

If they offer discounts on Black Friday now, they're actually giving the reason the disc

so.

Appealing to bargain hunters through massive Black Friday discounts may even turn core

shoppers off if hordes of bargain.

Hunters plow through a store.

Looking for deals and disrupt them.

Ah, OK, so I'm shopping for my Louis Vuitton bag, and then all of a sudden hordes of bargain

hunters, people looking for a deal, come into the store.

And.

Now I am bothered and this turns me off and I don't want to shop at Louis Vuitton.

I'm using this as an example I've never bought.

Anything from Louis Vuitton?

This is just.

An example.

It was the first brand I thought of.

OK, hordes means many people, so it.

Again, describes a very large crowd, Hordes a.

Bargain hunters, A large group.

Of bargain hunters if they plow through to.

Plow through is when you go through.

Something like the store, but it's difficult because there's.

So many people around, you have to get your elbows up.

It's difficult, so plow through a store.

Looking for deals and disrupt them?

There are many reasons retailers may snub.

Ah, now you know what this means to snub.

Remember, it's when you ignore someone, you don't give them any attention and that insults

them.

So the retailers?

Snub Black Friday they.

Don't give it any attention Snub Black Friday, but at the core.

So at the core they're saying there are many reasons, but at the core, so the core would.

Be the most important reason at the core it's about.

How the shopping bonanza?

Let's talk about this the.

Shopping bonanza.

A bonanza for a store.

Is an event that produces a lot of.

Profit and remember margins is another word for profit, so you could.

Say a lot of margins.

A lot of profit.

Is about how the shopping bonanza.

So this event is Black Friday.

So it's about how Black Friday.

The shopping bonanza is Black Friday.

How the shopping bonanza plays into a store's business strategy.

Ultimately the long term view is.

What matters?

In this case, ultimately it's used to emphasize the most important fact in a situation, so

this article mentioned many reasons why stores might opt out of Black Friday.

Why they might snub or.

Balk at Black Friday.

And the most important fact is right here.

Ultimately the long term view is what matters.

So you learned a lot of great.

Vocabulary.

Now what I'll do is I'll read the.

Article from start to finish, and this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

The store's snubbing Black Friday's Mega sales.

Many retailers flaunt rock bottom prices the day after Thanksgiving, but others opt out

of the shopping frenzy.

Ethics, image, and margins all play a part in the calculus.

For many shoppers, Black Friday kicks off the.

Zenith of the shopping season in the US, Nearly 73 million people visited a brick.

And mortar store during 2020's Thanksgiving holiday weekend with billions spent online

too.

Every year.

Shoppers Mob stores for Steep.

Markdowns widely circulated.

Videos on social media often highlight the chaos wrought on stores themselves.

Display banners torn down, shelves stripped bare.

And even occasional spots of violence.

But some retailers balk at black.

Friday's consumerism culture.

A few.

Retailers don't open at all.

For some brands, the decision is motivated by their corporate values and image retailers

that appeal.

To Environmentally and socially conscious shoppers often don't feed this frenzy for

profit.

Beyond corporate values.

A brand's image also drives this decision.

Would it seem out of place for a business to offer sales?

Would it devalue the brand to do so aside?

From reputation for some stores black.

Friday simply isn't a practical business move in retail marketing.

Prevailing trends show loyal.

Customers often become repeat customers and offer longer lifetime value to a brand.

They are also generally easier to maintain than constantly finding new ones.

Appealing to bargain hunters through massive Black Friday discounts may even turn core

shoppers off if hordes of.

Bargain hunters plow through a store.

Looking for deals and disrupt them?

There are many reasons retailers may snub Black Friday, but at the core, it's about.

How the shopping bonanza plays into a stores business strategy.

Ultimately, the long term view is what matters.

Did you enjoy this lesson?

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