快閃行動”，又譯“聰明暴民”、“暴民”、“快閃暴走族”、“快閃族”、“聰明行動幫”等等。是新近在國際流行開的一種嬉皮行為，可視為一種短暫的行為藝術(shù)。

　　On August 5th, 2007, a small group of young people gathered at the Hongqi Street in city Changchun, Jilin Province, China. These young people, in matching clothes, and each holding a guitar, stood in line and began to sing a pop song. And suddenly, they dispersed1).

　　This was the first case of the globally renowned "Flash Mob" landing in Changchun, China. Fourteen participants staged their event in three downtown areas of the city, puzzling a lot of passers-by in the process.

　　Is it performance art? The cutting edge of a new social movement? Or just the ultimate surprise party?

　　2007年8月5日,一小群年輕人聚集在中國吉林省長春市的紅旗街。這些年輕人穿著統(tǒng)一的服裝,每人背著一把吉他,站成一排開始演唱一首流行歌曲。然后很突然地,他們就四散離開了。

　　這是風(fēng)靡全球的“快閃行動”首次登陸中國長春。14名參與者在該市的三處繁華路段開展了活動,使得這期間路過的許多行人一頭霧水。

　　這是一種行為藝術(shù)?是一項最前沿的新社會運動?抑或只是一場終極的驚喜派對?

　　關(guān)于快閃行動

　　A relatively new phenomenon, a flash mob is a spontaneous2) gathering of people who assemble in a predetermined3) location, perform an action, and then disperse. Participants network4) through email, bulletin boards, and social networking sites, including Facebook, Myspace, private blogs, public forums, personal websites, as well as by word of mouth and text messaging, and generally assemble silently and without comment before vanishing equally mysteriously.

　　The general purpose of a flash mob is to create a light-hearted gathering of people to intrigue5) and mystify6) bystanders. Yan Hao, a college student, was one of the 14 team members who took part in the Changchun Flash Mob. "I love fresh ideas," said the young man. "And I have been longing to take part in the 'Flash Mob'." Unlike Yan, some other members took the activity as a way to release pressure. "We don't know each other. Who cares who you are and what you're doing?"

　　快閃行動是一種相對而言比較新的現(xiàn)象,一群人自發(fā)聚集到某個事先約定好的地點,做出一個舉動,然后迅速四散離開。參與者在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上通過電子郵件、公告板和Facebook、Myspace等社交網(wǎng)站、私人博客、公共論壇、個人網(wǎng)站,以及口口相傳、手機短信等形式相互征求意見。通常情況下,他們都會悄無聲息地聚集,然后在同樣神秘消失前不發(fā)表只字片語。

　　快閃行動的一般目的是組織一個輕松的聚會,激起旁觀者的好奇心,讓他們感到困惑不解。大學(xué)生閆昊(音譯)是參與長春快閃行動的14名成員之一。“我喜歡新鮮的主意,”這位年輕人說。“我一直希望參加‘快閃行動’。”與閆昊不同,其他一些成員則將這項活動視為宣泄自身壓力的一種途徑。“我們互不認識。誰關(guān)心你是誰,你在做什么?”

　　第一次快閃行動

　　The first flash mob was organized in Manhattan, New York, US, in May 2003 by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine7). But this first event, like many, was unsuccessful.

　　The first successful flash mob was assembled on June 3, 2003 at New York's Macy's department store. More than one hundred people converged8) on the ninth floor rug9) department of Macy's department store, gathering around one particularly expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant said that they lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a Love Rug and that they made all purchase decisions as a group. You could imagine how the store's sales assistants were puzzled by these people!

　　2003年5月,《哈潑氏》雜志資深編輯比爾·瓦西克在美國紐約曼哈頓組織了第一次快閃行動。但是和許多活動的第一次一樣,這次活動并沒有成功。

　　2003年6月3日,第一次成功的快閃行動在紐約的梅西百貨公司上演。一百多人聚集在梅西百貨公司九層的地毯專柜,圍在一塊無比昂貴的地毯旁。若被銷售助理問起,他們每個人都會說,他們一起居住在紐約市郊的一個倉庫里,正在選購一塊“愛的地毯”,而且他們所有的購買行為都是集體決定的。你可以想象店里的銷售助理被這些人搞得多么迷惑不解!

　　世界上著名的快閃行動

　　★Silent Disco

　　A well known flash mob was the April 2006 Silent Disco in London. At various underground stations around London, people gathered with their portable music devices and at a set time all started dancing to their music. At the time this was by far the largest flash mob gathering by a considerable amount. It was reported that at Victoria Station more than 4,000 people were in attendance. This impacted the regular service of the London underground system enough for the city's police to begin crowd control and slowly clear people.

　　★Worldwide Pillow Fight Day

　　Worldwide Pillow Fight Day (or International Pillow Fight Day) was a pillow fight flash mob that took place on March 22, 2008. Over 25 cities around the globe participated in the first international flash mob, which was the world's largest flash mob to date. According to The Wall Street Journal, over 5,000 participated in New York City, overtaking London's 2006 Silent Disco gathering as the largest recorded flash mob.

　　★The London Underground Tube Party

　　In response to a ban on drinking alcohol on the London Underground, citizens in the city organized a final Tube party on 31 May 2008, the night before the ban took effect. The party took place primarily on the Circle line, with smaller events taking place along the system. Although there are no definite figures on the turnout10), experts say there were thousands of Londoners in attendance.

　　★The Mp3 Experiment

　　In this flash mob, participants downloaded musical tracks before attending the event, and spontaneously broke into dance, following instructions embedded11) in the tracks.

　　The Mp3 Experiment has become an annual event. The original one took place indoors at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre12) in 2004. The audience watched a projected countdown clock and then all pressed play together. A few minutes later, the seats were empty as the entire crowd was dancing on the stage. Participants blew bubbles, hit balloons in the air, and hugged each other before being led by Santa Clause out the theatre and down the street to a nearby bar.

　　★The No Pants Subway Ride

　　The No Pants Subway Ride is annual event staged every January in New York City. The first ride began in 2002, which included 7 participants, all male. One participant entered the train pantless for 7 consecutive stops. They pretended not to notice each other, and if asked, they claimed that they "just forgot" their pants. On the 8th stop, someone came through with a duffle bag13) selling pants for class="main">