Indulging – allowing yourself to have perhaps too much of something you enjoy. Well, it only happens once a year, Sam. But for those of us who do celebrate Christmas, it comes at a price.
Yes, well buying all those presents can be expensive.
是的,买所有这些礼物可能会很贵。
Neil(尼尔)
Not just that, Sam. I mean it comes at a cost to the environment, as we’ll explain shortly. But let’s start off with a quiz question for you to answer. In 2010, a Christmas tree in Belgium was awarded the world record for having the most lights on it – but do you how many? Were there… a) 19,672; b) 94,672, or c) 194,672 What do you think, Sam?
Well, I don’t think you could fit 194, 673 lights on a Christmas tree, so I’ll say a) 19,672.
嗯,我认为你不可能在圣诞树上放下 194, 673 盏灯,所以我会说 a) 19,672 盏。
Neil(尼尔)
OK. Well, we’ll find out how ‘bright’ you are at the end of the programme! Of course, Christmas trees are the ultimate Christmas decoration. It’s part of the Christmas tradition and millions are bought around the world each year. But what impact do Christmas trees - real and artificial - have on the environment?
Well before we answer that, let’s hear from some of the BBC Learning English team who chose to have a real Christmas tree in their home and find out why…
在我们回答这个问题之前,让我们听听 BBC Learning English 团队的一些人的意见,他们选择在家里放一棵真正的圣诞树,并找出原因......
Phil(菲尔)
Well, you've got the smell of it. You've got the look of it. But more importantly, it’s Christmas trees are supposed to be symbolic, aren't they? So the idea of something that stays green all year, so bringing that into your house it, it means something.
I just think a real Christmas tree is more festive and more Christmassy. And it's just the tradition to get a real Christmas tree, that's all.
我只是觉得一棵真正的圣诞树更喜庆,更有圣诞节气息。而获得一棵真正的圣诞树只是传统,仅此而已。
Roy(罗伊)
There’s something more beautiful about the nature, the smell, the feel, the look of the tree and I like it to be sustainable. So, as long as I get my tree from a person that promises to grow two or three in its place, then I'm really, really happy.
Yes, I agree – you can’t beat having a real Christmas tree. And as Phil said, it’s symbolic – it represents something important – and here a Christmas tree is the symbol of Christmas.
是的,我同意 —— 你不能比拥有一棵真正的圣诞树更胜一筹。正如 Phil 所说,它是象征性的 —— 它代表着重要的东西 —— 而这里的圣诞树就是圣诞节的象征。
Sam(山姆)
And as Jiaying mentioned, it’s a tradition – something that’s done regularly and has become the expected thing to do – and I’d agree it makes things more festive – a word to describe the joyful feeling you get when celebrating something like Christmas.
But of course all these trees are often thrown away, which is wasteful. That's why Roy mentioned his tree being sustainable – which means they can continue to be grown and cut down over a longer period so it’s less harmful to the environment.
但当然,所有这些树木经常被扔掉,这是一种浪费。这就是为什么 Roy 提到他的树是可持续的 —— 这意味着它们可以在更长的时间内继续生长和砍伐,从而减少对环境的危害。
Sam(山姆)
Well, an alternative to a real Christmas tree is a fake or artificial one, which is what Feifei from our team has in her house. What are the reasons why?
We have a plastic Christmas tree, which we've had for about nine years. So it's plastic so you can re-use it every year and it's more economical, and we don't have to keep buying new trees.
So Feifei’s fake tree is made of plastic – so that’s not great for recycling – but the good thing is she uses it year after year which makes it economical – which means it doesn’t cost a lot of money, it’s good value.
Ah, but even Feifei admits it doesn’t have the smell and feel of a real tree. It’s a dilemma isn’t it, Neil?
啊,但即使是 Feifei 也承认它没有真树的气味和感觉。这是一个两难的选择,不是吗,尼尔?
Neil(尼尔)
Yes – what’s best for us and what’s best for the environment? The BBC’s Reality Check programme found that real trees take about 12 years to grow and as they do, they absorb carbon from the atmosphere and nitrogen from the soil – so a good thing.
But when it’s chopped down it starts to release emissions back into the atmosphere – especially if you have to transport it to your home. And when Christmas is over, if it ends up in landfill, the tree’s carbon footprint will be higher.
But its carbon footprint will be lowered if it’s recycled or composted – that’s the process of allowing it to decay and then adding it to the ground to improve soil quality. A fake tree on the other hand is usually imported, and can’t usually be recycled but, as Feifei mentioned, it can be re-used. But without any type of Christmas tree, where would we put all those lights I mentioned earlier, Sam? I asked you: In 2010, a Christmas tree in Belgium was awarded the world record for having the most lights on it – but did you know how many? What do you say, Sam?
OK, well we started talking about indulging – that means allowing yourself to have perhaps too much of something you enjoy.
好吧,我们开始谈论放纵 —— 这意味着允许自己拥有太多你喜欢的东西。
Neil(尼尔)
When something is symbolic, it represents something important. And the word festive describes the joyful feeling you get when celebrating something like Christmas.
当某物具有象征意义时,它代表着重要的东西。节日这个词描述了你在庆祝圣诞节等事情时获得的快乐感觉。
Sam(山姆)
Like the festive jumper you are wearing today, Neil – very jolly! OK, next we mentioned sustainable – which means the ability to do something over a long period of time without harming the environment.