文章轉載自 雙語君 中國日報雙語新聞

當前，新冠肺炎疫情在全球蔓延。

從當地時間3月7日世衛組織發布的最新疫情報告來看，中國以外，全球93個國家和地區已出現確診病例，日新增確診達3633例。

隨著各國確診人數不斷增多，多國民眾開始搶購物資，其中澳大利亞民眾搶購衛生紙的新聞特別引人關注。

圖片來源：News.com.au

據BBC報道，上周末澳大利亞出現首例本土死亡病例，確診病例數不斷上升，當地人感到很恐慌。

澳大利亞衛生署8日公布的數據

官方指南建議人們保持衛生、勤洗手，如果需要可以囤些食物和日常用品。

Official guidance advised people to practice good hygiene and wash their hands. It was also suggested that people could prepare two weeks' worth of food and water, as well as other household goods, if they felt it necessary.

令人意外的是，衛生紙銷量暴增，比長保質期的食品等更受歡迎。

The demand for toilet paper surged - ahead of long-life food and other non-perishable goods.

有報道稱，澳大利亞兩位居民為了搶衛生紙，甚至拔刀相向。

其實，隨著疫情蔓延全球，除了澳大利亞以外，美國、日本、新西蘭、英國、加拿大等越來越多國家的民眾加入了搶紙大軍。

It’s not just Australians. Shops in Japan, the US and New Zealand have also run low on the precious sanitary rolls.

加拿大居民在搶購衛生紙↓↓

美國居民在搶購衛生紙↓↓

英國居民也在搶購衛生紙↓↓

此前，面對民眾瘋搶衛生紙，日本政府特地提醒居民不要囤積衛生紙，并對“衛生紙短缺”進行了辟謠。

相信國內不少人看到此類新聞會感到很好奇，囤吃的喝的都能理解，為啥外國人這么喜歡囤衛生紙呢？

其實，不少外國人對此也感到困惑。一位澳洲網友就在Reddit論壇上發問——“一個嚴肅的問題，為啥人們在買衛生紙？”

這位網友說，囤罐頭食品、瓶裝水啥的都能理解，但為啥要囤紙？

外媒也注意到了這個現象，紛紛寫起了文章，分析背后的原因。

News.com.au：新冠肺炎疫情暴發：為啥澳大利亞人搶購廁紙？

BBC：新冠病毒恐慌：為啥人們在囤廁紙？

《衛報》：就算作為行為研究者，我們都抗拒不了想要買廁紙的迫切欲望

下面，雙語君（微信ID：Chinadaily_Mobile）就來總結下外媒分析的幾大原因。

▌恐慌性購物（panic buying）：害怕短缺

澳大利亞新聞網站News.com.au分析稱，人們擔心疫情打亂中國這一全球廁紙供應商的生產計劃，從而導致澳大利亞衛生紙短缺。

The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted manufacturing in China, which is one of the world’s key suppliers of toilet paper.

That’s prompted fears there may be a shortage in Australia, but experts say there’s no need to worry.

而相同的原因，也引發了日本的衛生紙搶購現象。

日本民眾排隊買衛生紙

據Time Out東京報道，此前日本網絡上有謠言稱，由于衛生紙都是中國生產的，受疫情影響可能買不到。

The source of the hysteria is a few rumours circulating online, including one claiming toilet paper will no longer be available because it is made in China. Although, as The Japan Times was quick to point out, most toilet paper on sale in Japan is actually produced in Japan.

還有謠言稱，衛生紙和口罩是同一種原料，口罩短缺，勢必也引發衛生紙短缺。

隨后，日本媒體對此類謠言進行了辟謠，消除民眾恐慌情緒。

▌衛生紙體積大，空貨架引人注目

行為研究者（behavioural researchers）Liam Smith和Celine Klemm發表在《衛報》的文章指出，衛生紙體積大，缺貨后非常醒目，空貨架很容易引發人們害怕買不到的心理。

The supermarket shelf itself also sends signals. Toilet paper is bulky and, as it’s removed, the shelves look empty quickly, which triggers the perceptions of scarcity. In reality, the situation appears worse than it actually is.

bulkyˈ[ˈbʌlki]：adj. 體積大的；龐大的；笨重的

澳大利亞超市衛生紙貨架售空

消費者心理專家在接受BBC采訪時也表示，比起50罐焗豆子或洗手液，50包衛生紙消失后，會更加引人注目。

"What you've got to remember is that when 50 packs of toilet paper rolls disappear off shelves, you really notice it because they take up so much room," says Prof Debra Grace from Griffith University.

"It's much more noticeable than say 50 cans of baked beans or hand sanitiser disappearing.

▌跟風搶購

新南威爾士大學消費者行為研究專家Nitika Garg稱，人們搶購衛生紙還出于“害怕錯過”（fear of missing out）的心理。如果你看到別人買了，就會覺得自己也應該買。

Another explanation for the phenomenon is what’s known as the FOMO — fear of missing out — syndrome, Associate Professor Nitika Garg, a consumer behavior researcher at the University of New South Wales, told the news outlet.

“They think if this person is buying it, if my neighbor is buying, there’s got to be a reason and I need to get in too,” she said.

澳大利亞一超市，衛生紙貨架售空

而《衛報》則引用了心理學上“社會證據啟發”（social proof heuristic）這一概念來做進一步解釋，即在不確定的情況下，很多人會把“別人做的”當作心理捷徑加以效仿。

Humans are finely attuned to monitoring what everybody else is doing (even subconsciously). Most of us use “what other people do” as a mental shortcut to decide on what the appropriate behaviour would be if we are unsure. It’s a simple decision mechanism called “social proof heuristic”, a concept popularised by psychologist Robert Cialdini.

▌社交媒體加劇恐慌

《衛報》文章還指出，發達的社交媒體放大了對廁紙短缺的恐慌，而這種恐慌比病毒傳播的還快。

Social media amplifies the fear which, in some way, seems to travel faster than the virus.

衛生紙貨架空空的照片，也向人們傳遞了“趕緊搶購”的信息。

The hashtags #toiletpapercrisis and #toiletpapergate were trending on Twitter. Seeing image after image of empty shelves sends signals to the public that this is an important issue everyone is talking about.

▌衛生紙帶給人控制感

據澳大利亞對話新聞網（The Conversation）報道，來自昆士蘭科技大學公共衛生與社會工作學院的專家Niki Edwards表示，衛生紙能給人們帶來一種控制感，讓人覺得可以在衛生和清潔方面占據主動。

Toilet paper symbolises control. We use it to “tidy up” and “clean up”.

When people hear about the coronavirus, they are afraid of losing control. And toilet paper feels like a way to maintain control over hygiene and cleanliness.

▌衛生紙適合囤，不易壞

紐卡斯爾大學紐卡斯爾商學院專家David Savage把衛生紙稱作一種“完美商品”，不易腐壞，不管啥時候，終究能用到。

I think it is the perfect product. It is completely non-perishable and one of the few products that you can stock up on that you are guaranteed to use eventually.

面對民眾空前囤紙熱潮，日本、澳大利亞等國政府呼吁民眾不要過量囤積，本地衛生紙制造商也表示廁紙供應不會出現短缺。

Leading Australian toilet paper manufacturers have told news.com.au they won’t be running out anytime soon.

不少媒體和網友也勸大家保持理性，要為別人考慮一點。

So don’t be selfish, and keep others in mind when making purchases.

最后，大家來“囤積”一些本篇文章里實用的詞匯和表達吧：

搶購或恐慌性購物可以叫panic buying/panic purchasing。

另外，囤衛生紙這個“囤”，可以用stockpile、hoard來表達。

編輯：唐曉敏

來源：BBC 衛報 news.com.au Timeout東京 紐約郵報 WHO 推特等

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