快闪行动”，又译“聪明暴民”、“暴民”、“快闪暴走族”、“快闪族”、“聪明行动帮”等等。是新近在国际流行开的一种嬉皮行为，可视为一种短暂的行为艺术。

　　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,一小群年轻人聚集在中国吉林省长春市的红旗街。这些年轻人穿着统一的服装,每人背着一把吉他,站成一排开始演唱一首流行歌曲。然后很突然地,他们就四散离开了。

　　这是风靡全球的“快闪行动”首次登陆中国长春。14名参与者在该市的三处繁华路段开展了活动,使得这期间路过的许多行人一头雾水。

　　这是一种行为艺术?是一项最前沿的新社会运动?抑或只是一场终极的惊喜派对?

　　关于快闪行动

　　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?"

　　快闪行动是一种相对而言比较新的现象,一群人自发聚集到某个事先约定好的地点,做出一个举动,然后迅速四散离开。参与者在网络上通过电子邮件、公告板和Facebook、Myspace等社交网站、私人博客、公共论坛、个人网站,以及口口相传、手机短信等形式相互征求意见。通常情况下,他们都会悄无声息地聚集,然后在同样神秘消失前不发表只字片语。

　　快闪行动的一般目的是组织一个轻松的聚会,激起旁观者的好奇心,让他们感到困惑不解。大学生闫昊(音译)是参与长春快闪行动的14名成员之一。“我喜欢新鲜的主意,”这位年轻人说。“我一直希望参加‘快闪行动’。”与闫昊不同,其他一些成员则将这项活动视为宣泄自身压力的一种途径。“我们互不认识。谁关心你是谁,你在做什么?”

　　第一次快闪行动

　　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,《哈泼氏》杂志资深编辑比尔·瓦西克在美国纽约曼哈顿组织了第一次快闪行动。但是和许多活动的第一次一样,这次活动并没有成功。

　　2003年6月3日,第一次成功的快闪行动在纽约的梅西百货公司上演。一百多人聚集在梅西百货公司九层的地毯专柜,围在一块无比昂贵的地毯旁。若被销售助理问起,他们每个人都会说,他们一起居住在纽约市郊的一个仓库里,正在选购一块“爱的地毯”,而且他们所有的购买行为都是集体决定的。你可以想象店里的销售助理被这些人搞得多么迷惑不解!

　　世界上著名的快闪行动

　　★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">