經濟危機中因禍得福的十大贏家（上）

If there are silver linings to the recession, they're not immediately apparent. After all, the national unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, the highest since 1983, and economists predict it will reach 9 percent by 2010.

Gross domestic product is forecast to shrink more this year than at any other time since the Great Depression. And across the country, stores are closing, municipal budgets are tightening, and banks are begging for bailouts.

But a handful of industries, companies, and products are doing well--relatively speaking. They run the gamut from Quarter Pounders to contraceptives, but they share a key component: Whether they help people pivot to new careers, cut costs at home, or simply escape from all the bad news, they're poised not only to weather the economic storm but to, in some way, benefit from it.

See the full list of the 10 top recession winners.

1. Home Gardening

Research by Atlee Burpee, the world's biggest seed company, found that $50 of seeds and fertilizer can yield $1,250 worth of produce. Green thumbs agree: Sales at Burpee are expected to jump 25 percent in 2009, while veggie seed sales at Park Seed are up 20 percent this year from 2008. And a National Gardening Association poll shows that the number of households planning to grow their own food in 2009 has increased by 19 percent from 2008. The trade-off? Fewer flowers. With garden space—and budgets—squeezed, flower seed sales are down.

2. Hollywood

The number of subscribers to Netflix, the DVD delivery service, climbed 26 percent in the fourth quarter from the same time last year. That helped put the company's revenue up 19 percent from the previous year. And according to industry researcher Media by Numbers, 2009's box office sales are tracking 16.5 percent higher than the year before—at this rate, theaters will make $1.9 billion, versus last year's $1.6 billion—with attendance up nearly 15 percent.

3. Bodice Rippers

Harlequin, the world's biggest publisher of series romance, saw North American sales rise $3 million in 2008's fourth quarter from a year earlier. Other escapist literature also has done well: Although most book sales were flat or down in February 2009 from the year before, a spokesperson for the Borders book chain says that science fiction and fantasy were up—as were humor titles.

4. Condom Makers

Whether for at-home entertainment or to try to stave off the cost of a baby in trying times, condom sales rose 6 percent in January from the year before. "If people don't have the money to go out to a fancy dinner or are looking to cut back, Trojan gives them some real affordable ways to stay in and make some great memories together," Jim Daniels, Trojan's vice president of marketing, told USA Today.

5. Résumé Editing

Résumé writer Jerry Bills, who has worked on nearly 30,000 résumés since 1986, says his sales numbers are up 46 percent from last winter. "I'm way too busy to bother to even track it all," he says. "All I know is I don't even have a life anymore."

One poll by the National Résumé Writers Association found that 54 percent of respondents had seen an increase in clients as economic conditions worsened.

And at her own business, says Feldberg, December and January orders had jumped 300 percent over the same time last year. But résumés for certain industries are being submitted more than others. While résumés for the restaurant industry, healthcare, and tourism are up at Peterson's ResumeEdge, those for financial services are, unsurprisingly, down.

即便經濟危機中還有一線曙光，它也不會立刻顯現。畢竟美國的失業率已達1983年以來的最高水平——8.1%，據經濟學家預計，到2010年這一數字將達到9%。

據預計，今年美國的GDP降幅將達上世紀“大蕭條”以來的最高水平。如今的美國，商鋪倒閉，地方財政吃緊，銀行則紛紛向政府要救濟。

但相對而言，有一批產業、公司和產品在眼下的經濟危機時期效益還不錯，從麥當勞Quarter Pounders漢堡到安全套無所不包，但它們都有一個共同特點，那就是要麼可以幫人們找到新工作，削減家庭開支，要麼是僅僅逃避所有的壞消息，它們不僅能平安渡過金融風暴，而且還能以某種方式從中獲利。

經濟危機因禍得福的十大贏家如下：

1 家庭種植

全球最大的種子公司Atlee Burpee開展的一項調查發現，投入50美元購買種子和化肥就可以產出價值達1250美元的農產品。種植專家們也對此表示贊同：據預計，Burpee公司今年的種子銷量將上升25%，而Park Seed公司的蔬菜種銷量與去年同期相比也上漲了20%。美國園藝協會開展的一項民調顯示，今年計劃自己種植農作物的家庭數量比去年增加了19%。代價就是花卉減少了。由於種植空間和預算的縮減，花卉種子銷量下降。

2 好萊塢電影

DVD遞送商Netflix公司去年第四季度的訂戶數量比上一年同期增長26%，這使得公司的收入比上一年增加了19%。根據行業研究機構Media by Numbers的調查，2009年的電影票房比去年增加了16.5%，按照這個增幅，今年院線將有19億美元進賬，而去年僅有16億美元，此外影院的上座數也增長了近15%。

3 言情小說

全球最大的言情繫列小說出版商Harlequin稱，去年第四季度其在北美市場的銷售額比上一年同期增加了300萬美元。其它具有“逃避現實”功效的圖書銷量也很好。儘管與去年同期相比，今年2月份大部分圖書的銷量平平或下降，但Borders圖書連鎖店的發言人稱，科幻小說和書名幽默的圖書銷量有所上升。

4 安全套生產商

無論是爲了增進家庭情趣，還是爲了在經濟困難時期避免養育子女的開銷，今年1月份安全套的銷量比去年同期增加了6%。“特洛伊”公司的市場副總監吉姆•丹尼爾斯在接受《今日美國》採訪時說：“如果人們沒錢出去吃大餐或者想節省開支，‘特洛伊’可爲大家提供可以負擔的方式，在家中一起創造美好的回憶。”

5 簡歷代寫

自1986年入行以來，簡歷寫手傑瑞•比爾斯處理的簡歷數達近3萬份。他稱現在他的業務量比去年冬季增加了46%。他說：“我都忙得沒法逐字修改了，現在我只知道我已經沒有自己的生活了。”

美國簡歷撰寫者協會的一項調查顯示，隨着經濟形勢的惡化，54%的簡歷代寫者客戶量增加。

簡歷代寫者菲爾德伯格稱，就她自己的業務而言，去年12月和今年1月接到的訂單比上年同期增加了三倍。但相對於其它行業而言，某些行業提交的簡歷量增長較多。在彼得森公司的ResumeEdge網站上，酒店、醫療和旅遊業的簡歷量大幅增加，而金融領域的簡歷卻“意外”遇冷。（待續）

Vocabulary:

silver lining:一線希望

run the gamut to cover a wide range [from one thing to another]. （無所不包，包含範圍很廣；例如：She wants to buy the house, but her requests run the gamut from expensive new carpeting to completely new landscaping. ）

green thumb:an extraordinary ability to make plants grow well.（擅長園藝的）

bodice rippers:a sexually explicit romantic novel; usually in a historical setting and always with a plot involving the seduction of the heroine.（言情小說）