末日也疯狂

末日抢购热

In Sichuan province, panic buying of candles has swept through two counties in the fear that an ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21 proves to be true.

由于害怕古老的玛雅预言所说的世界会在12月21日末日是真的，四川省两个县的人们纷纷抢购蜡烛。

“Candles are selling by the hundreds, with buyers constantly coming to the market. Many stores have run out,” the owner of grocery said, “At first, we had no idea why. But then we heard someone muttering about the continuous darkness”.

“蜡烛都是成百成百的卖的，购买者不断涌进市场，很多商店的蜡烛都卖光了，”店主说，“开始我们也不知道发生什么事。但是后来我们听说有人传言会有持续的黑暗。”

The source of the panic was traced to a post on Sina Weibo, predicting that there will be three days of darkness when the apocalypse arrives.

这个恐慌的来源来自新浪微博的一篇博文，说到在末日来临那天，地球将会有三天全黑暗时期。

Daydreaming About Last Day

末日白日梦

Since the beginning of December, the word “Mayans” has trended on Weibo as millions of normally phlegmatic Chinese speculate that the end is nigh. “If the Mayans are right, I won’t pay my credit card bill,” was one popular post.

自从12月开始，“玛雅”这个词在微博上成为热词，普通老百姓纷纷推测末日的到来。一条转发量大的微博说到，“如果世界末日是真的，我就不付信用卡卡债了。”

To be Charitable on Last Day

末日慈善心

A spokesman said they had handled 25 apocalypse-related cases in one 24-hour stretch. Most of the scam artists took advantage of credulous pensioners, encouraging them to hand over their savings for one last act of charity.

一个发言人说他们在一天内接到25宗跟末日有关的案件。很多骗子利用退休老年人对末日的轻信，鼓励他们把退休金及存款都交给他们做最后的善事。

In Shanghai, the police have had to issue a public warning about doomsday. “The end of the world is a rumour,” the police said, “Do not believe it and do not be swindled”.

在上海，公安不得不发布对末日的公众警告。警方说：“世界末日是谣言，不要相信，也不要受骗。”

In Nanjing, a 54-year-old university professor’s wife took out a £100,000 mortgage on her £300,000 home, saying she would donate the money to underprivileged children, saying she hoped to “do something meaningful before the world ended”.

在南京，一名54岁大学教授的妻子用她30万欧元的房子拿了10万欧元抵押，说她要把钱捐献出来给贫困地区的孩子，她希望“在末日之前想做些有意义的事情。”

Noah’s Ark for Last Day

末日造方舟

Last month, a man in the far west province of Xinjiang made news when he spent his life savings of £100,000 to build an ark for 20 people. He said if the apocalypse failed to materialise, he would use the boat to take tourists on sightseeing tours.

上个月，新疆省西部的一个男子说他花了一生的10万欧元积蓄去建造可容纳20人的方舟。他说，如果末日不是真的，那他就用这船去周游世界。

Family Day = Last Day

末日团聚天

In Chengdu, a web company has given its workers a tongue-in-cheek two-day break on Dec 19 and 20. “We suggest you take advantage of this ‘final’ time to spend more time with your closest family. We wish everyone a meaningful doomsday.”

在成都，一个网络公司给其员工一个半开玩笑的从12月19日至20日的两天假期，说到，“我们建议你们要借着这‘最后的’日子好好跟最亲密的家人团聚，希望每个人都有一个有意义的末日。”

Foreign Carnival on Last Day

国外末日也疯狂

In America, there was an explosion in sales of survival shelters .

在美国，抢购生存避难所的热潮爆发。

In France believers were preparing to converge on a mountain where they believe aliens will rescue them.

一些法国信徒准备聚集在一座山上，他们相信外星人会拯救他们。

The city of Novokuznetsk faced a run on salt. In Barnaul, close to the Altai Mountains, panic-buyers snapped up all the torches and Thermos flasks.

新库兹涅茨克(俄罗斯西西伯利亚东南部城市)面临食盐短缺。 巴尔瑙尔（俄罗斯城市），靠近阿尔泰山，电筒和保温瓶被恐慌者一抢而空。

Meanwhile in Mexico, where the ancient Mayan civilisation flourished, the end time has been seen as an opportunity. The country has organised hundreds of Maya-themed events, and tourism is expected to have doubled this year.

在墨西哥，古老玛雅文化的盛行之地，末日被看做一种机遇。墨西哥组织了上百个以玛雅为主题的活动，本年旅游业绩有望翻倍。