It can be one of the most frustrating things in life – waiting in line at the supermarket.

    But new research shows that a few simple "life hacks" can make the process much quicker and pain-free than you may think.

    Choosing to be served by female cashiers, standing in queues that feed into several tills and spying on other shoppers' grocery shop are just some of the ways to avoid the dreaded queues. Opting for checkouts on the left or queuing behind shoppers with a trolley could also help cut down the amount of time waiting in line.

    The "life hacks" have emerged after researchers found that the average Briton spends between one and six months of their life standing in line at the shops.

    Desmos, a U.S. organization that promotes math, technology and data, has spent months analyzing supermarket data and has revealed the best ways to beat the queues.

    Dan Meyer, a former math teacher turned chief academic officer at Desmos, said it takes a baseline of 41 seconds for each customer to pass through a till, with an additional three seconds added on per item they are purchasing.

    "Every person requires a fixed amount of time to say hello, pay, say goodbye and clear out of the lane," he said.

    He said the data showed that standing in line with numerous customers who are buying fewer items – such as basket shoppers at the "10 items or less" checkout – can be a bad choice. Instead, he says it actually works out quicker to stand behind one person with a trolley full of items, as the face-to-face interaction time is quicker than having to wait for the cashier to greet numerous shoppers.

    Meanwhile, Robert Samuel, founder of the New York-based Same Ole Line Dudes – a service that stands in line on behalf of customers - said most people are right-handed and therefore tend to queue on the right-hand side. He advises customers to queue on the left, and said he opts for female cashiers.

    His other advice includes always facing bar codes toward the cashier, removing the hangers of clothes before they are scanned and splitting the items between yourself and a friend to get through the tills quicker.

     Word of the Day 每日一词

    窍门

    qiàomén

    hack

    a tip, trick, or efficient method for doing or managing something

    收银台

    shōuyíntái

    till

    a drawer, box, or the like, as in a shop or bank, in which money is kept

    超市排长队怎么破？

    在超市排队结账可能是生活中必须面对的最烦人的事情之一。

    新研究表明，几个简单的生活小窍门能帮我们加快结账排队速度，让这件差事少点痛苦。

    选女收银员结账，排有若干个收款机的队伍，“偷瞄”其他顾客买的杂货都能让我们避免令人抓狂的长队。

    此外，选择左手边的结账口或排在推着购物车的顾客后面也能减少等待时间。

    生活小妙招的出现源于研究人员发现英国人一生平均要花费一到六个月时间在商店排队等候。

    一家专业研究数字、技术和数据的美国机构Desmos花了数月时间对超市数据进行了分析，并提出了不排长队的窍门。

    达恩?迈尔表示每名顾客通过收银台平均要用41秒，每多买一件商品额外增加3秒。达恩?迈尔之前是数学老师，现在是Desmos首席学术官。

    他说：“每个人说你好、付钱、说再见以及结完账走人的时间是固定的。”

    他说，数据显示排在一长队购少量物品的顾客后面——比如在“10件或少于10件”结账口使用购物篮的顾客，是糟糕的决定。相反，站在一个购物车满满当当的顾客后面速度更快，因为和等待收银员一个个问候顾客相比，面对面交流时间减少能加快排队速度。

    同时，纽约Same Ole Line Dudes公司（一家专门代客排队的服务机构）创始人罗伯特?塞缪尔称大多数人习惯用右手，故多倾向于站在右边队伍排队。他建议顾客站在左边，还说他会选择女性收银员。

    他还提出了一些其它建议，比如将商品条形码正对收银员，在收银员扫码前把衣服上的衣架摘去，自己和朋友分头排队，这些都能加快结账速度。