turn the corner 渡过难关
corner shop/store 街角商店
convenience store 便利店=C-store
On paper, this makes them perfectly suited to the pandemic. And in practice?
within walking distance; within reach (of…); within sight/earshot (of…)在看得到/听得到(某物)的范围内
linger v. 徘徊；逗留
basic necessities 基本生活必需品=essentials——essential/non-essential shop(非)必要商店
charge (up) v. 充电
on paper 据书面材料，在书面上，在理论上——in practice 在实际上
Going into covid-19, convenience stores were a mixed bag(大杂烩；混合体). Some benefited as busier lifestyles, smaller households and ageing populations led more people to shop little, often and locally. They were the only brick-and-mortar shops(实体店) in South Korea whose sales grew in 2019.
benefit (from…) 得益(于…)
household n. 家庭；一家人——household registration 户口登记，head of the household 一家之主；a. 家庭的——household products 家庭日用品
outlet n. 奥特莱斯、折扣店；商店；(液体、气体)排出口out+let——inlet (液体、气体)入口
minimarket/minimart 小商店
franchise n. 特许经营权——a catering franchise餐饮经营权，a franchise agreement 特许经营权；n. 获得特许经营权的商店
Elsewhere they have struggled. In Japan, home to the world’s three biggest chains, they have been in outright decline. [The share price] of Seven & i Holdings(,the giant which owns 7-Eleven and accounts for a third of the industry’s $360bn in global revenues), [has dropped by around 30% over the past two years,] [as investors cooled on its saturated domestic market.] Its two Japanese rivals, FamilyMart and Lawson, have been laggards, too (see chart). In many countries supermarkets have been muscling in on their traditional high-street turf.
home to… 某事的起源地
outright a. 彻底的；直接的；ad. 干净利落地——they win outright.他们彻底赢得了胜利。
be in decline 走下坡路，衰落
saturated a. 饱和的；充满的——be saturated with sth. 浸满…
laggard n. 迟缓落后的人——lag v. 落后， lag behind sb./sth. 落后于…
muscle in on sth. 强行干预(贬)——Banks are muscling in on the insurance business.银行在查收保险生意。
high-street a. 商业的，买卖的；n. 草皮，引申为地盘，势力范围
turf n. 草皮；地盘——home turf 主场；turf war 地盘战争
on the move 在行动中、奔波中
Despite the potential pandemic boost(n. 帮助、刺激；v. 使增长), performance this year has been similarly patchy. … Although some pandemic shopping habits favour convenience stores, others do not. Rivals(=competitor/opponent) are offering the same goods for less and brought to your doorstep, often in an hour or two. Deliveroo, a British food-delivery app(外卖软件) (part-owned by Amazon), ferries(v.摆渡;运送) booze(n.酒精饮料) from supermarkets. In August DoorDash, an American one that teamed up with(与…合作) 7-Eleven in the pandemic’s early days, launched its own virtual DashMart.
patchy a. 零散的；好坏不一的——patch n. 补丁
as per… 按照…=according to…——The work was carried out as per instructions.工作是按照指示进行的。
the height of sth …的高潮（或高峰）
cooperative a.合作的，cooperate v.合作，cooperation n.合作——【区别】corporation n.大公司；法人，corporate a. 公司的；法人的
year on year 与上年同期相比、同比
thanks to… 因为…；得益于…=due to…/because of…
operating profit 运营利润
be in the red 负债、赤字=be in debt/losing money——be in the black 有盈余、盈利
A for… A卖多少钱——3 for 2 买三样付两样的钱
To fend off rivals, stores must evolve with shoppers’ changing ideas of convenience, says Amanda Bourlier of Euromonitor International, a research firm. One American chain, Wawa, has opened drive-through stores. Another, Casey’s, has reported a surge in digital sales. Stores in South Korea and Japan, which face labour shortages(劳动力短缺), are toying with automated payments(自动结账).
fend sb. off 挡开…的攻击=fight off/ward off 主动抵御攻击——【同根】defend 防守
evolve v. 进化；逐步发展——evolution n.进化；演变，the theory of evolution 进化论
drive-through 免下车服务;得来速=curbside/kerbside pickup
toy with sth. 优柔寡断地考虑…
-odd 大约；…出头——【近义】-ish 大约：He is fortyish.他大约四十。
a bet on sth. 就某事打赌
商店有关：corner shop, convenience store, minimart, chain, outlet, supermarket, brick-and mortar shop, franchise, drive through, high street
产品和服务相关：basic necessities, household product, automated payment, booze, food delivery app