Hello and happy Christmas!
大家好，聖誕快樂！
This is 6 Minute English with me, Neil.
這是和尼爾一起的六分鐘英語。
And joining me today is Sam.
今天和我搭檔的是薩姆。
Hello.
大家好。
So, Sam, are you feeling excited about Christmas?
所以，薩姆，你對聖誕節感到興奮嗎？
Of course!
當然！
Time with friends and family, eating lots, partying, presents – and generally?indulging
和朋友家人在一起的時候，吃很多東西，聚會，還有禮物——通常還會放縱一下
?– what’s not to like?
——有什麼不喜歡的呢？
Indulging?– allowing yourself to have perhaps too much of something you enjoy.
放縱——讓自己享受或許太多自己所喜歡的事物。
Well, it only happens once a year, Sam.
好吧，一年只有一次，薩姆。
But for those of us who do celebrate Christmas, it comes at a price. ?
但是對於我們這些慶祝聖誕節的人來說，它是有代價的。
Yes, well buying all those presents can be expensive.
是的，買那些禮物會很貴。
Not just that, Sam.
不僅如此，薩姆。
I mean it comes at a cost to the environment, as we』ll explain shortly.
我的意思是，它是以環境為代價的，我們稍後會對此進行解釋。
But let’s start off with a quiz question for you to answer.
但讓我們以一個要你來回答的問題開始。
In 2010, a Christmas tree in Belgium was awarded the world record for having the most lights on it
2010年，比利時的一棵聖誕樹因其上面的燈最多而被授予世界記錄
– but do you how many?
——但是你知道有多少個？
Were there… a)??? 19,672, b)??? 94,672, or c)??? 194,672?
有…… a)1,9672個，b) 94,672個，還是c) 19,4672？
What do you think, Sam?
你覺得呢，薩姆？
Well, I don’t think you could fit 194, 673 lights on a Christmas tree, so I』ll say a) 19,672.
我不認為你能在聖誕樹上放194,673個燈，所以我會選a) 19,672個。
OK.
好的。
Well, we』ll find out how 』bright』 you are at the end of the programme!
我們將在節目最後揭曉你有多「亮」！
Of course, Christmas trees are the ultimate Christmas decoration.
當然，聖誕樹是最重要的聖誕裝飾。
It’s part of the Christmas tradition and millions are bought around the world each year.
它是聖誕節傳統的一部分，而且每年全世界有數百萬聖誕樹被購買。
But what impact do Christmas trees - real and artificial - have on the environment?
但是聖誕樹——不管是真的還是人造的——對環境有什麼影響呢？
Well before we answer that,
好的，在回答這個問題之前，
let’s hear from some of the BBC Learning English team, who? chose to have a real Christmas tree in their home
讓我們先來聽一聽在家裡擺放一棵真的聖誕樹的BBC英語教學小組成員是怎麼說的，
and find out why…
找出為什麼……
Well, you』ve got the smell of it. You』ve got the look of it.
好吧，你已經嗅到了聖誕樹的氣息。你已經看到聖誕樹的樣子。
But more importantly, Christmas trees are supposed to be?symbolic, aren’t they?
但更重要的是，聖誕樹應該是有象徵意義的，不是嗎？
So the idea of something that stays green all year, so bringing that into your house, it means something.
所以，那是說全年保持綠色的東西，所以把它帶到你家中，就是那個。
I just think a real Christmas tree is more festive and more Christmassy.
我只是覺得真的聖誕樹更有節日氣氛，更有聖誕氣氛。
And it’s just the tradition to get a real Christmas tree, that’s all.
擁有一棵真的聖誕樹只是一種傳統，僅此而已。
There’s something more beautiful about the nature, the smell, the feel, the look of the tree, and I like it to be?sustainable.
有比樹的本質，氣味，感覺和外觀更好的東西，我喜歡它是可持續的。
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.
所以，只要我從一個人那裡獲得樹，而那個人承諾會在原處種兩三棵樹，我就會非常，非常高興。
Yes, I agree – you can’t beat having a real Christmas tree.
是的，我同意——沒什麼比得上擁有一棵真的聖誕樹。
And as Phil said, it’s symbolic – it represents something important, and here a Christmas tree is the symbol of Christmas.
正如菲爾所說的，它是象徵性的——它代表重要的東西，在這裡，聖誕樹是聖誕節的象徵。
And as Jiaying mentioned, it’s a tradition – something that’s done regularly and has become the expected thing to do.
正如嘉穎提到的，這是一種傳統——一件經常做的事情，並且已經成為人們預計要做的事情。
And I』d agree it makes things more festive – a word to describe the joyful feeling you get when celebrating something like Christmas.
而且我贊同它讓事情變得更有節日氣氛——這個詞形容在慶祝像聖誕節這樣的事情時，你所獲得的愉悅之情。
But of course all these trees are often thrown away, which is wasteful.
但當然，所有這些樹經常被扔掉，這很浪費。
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.
這就是為什麼羅伊提到他的樹是可持續的，這指的是它們可以在更長的時間內繼續生長和砍伐，所以它對環境的危害更小。
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.
好吧，真聖誕樹的替代品就是假的或人造的聖誕樹，我們小組的菲菲在她家裡就有一顆這樣的聖誕樹。
What are the reasons why?
原因是什麼？
We have a plastic Christmas tree, which we』ve had for about nine years.
我們有一棵塑料聖誕樹，我們已經用了九年了。
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.
它是塑料的，所以你可以每年重複使用它，而且它更經濟，我們不需要一直買新的聖誕樹。
So Feifei’s fake tree is made of plastic, so that’s not great for recycling,
所以菲菲的假聖誕樹是用塑料做的，不好循環利用，
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.
但好處是她年復一年地使用，使它很經濟，這指的是它不需要花很多錢，很划算。
Ah, but even Feifei admits it doesn’t have the smell and feel of a real tree.
啊，但是菲菲也承認它沒有真樹的氣息和感覺。
It’s a dilemma isn’t it, Neil?
這是一個兩難的選擇，不是嗎，尼爾？
Yes – what’s best for us and what’s best for the environment?
是的，什麼對我們最有利，對環境最有利？
The BBC’s Reality Check programme found that real trees take about 12 years to grow,
英國廣播公司的「Reality Check」節目發現，真樹需要大約12年的時間才能長成，
and as they do they absorb carbon from the atmosphere and nitrogen from the soil, so a good thing.
在它們成長的過程中，它們吸收空氣中的碳和土壤中的氮，所以這是件好事。
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.
但是當它被砍倒的時候，它會開始將碳釋放回空氣中，尤其是當你不得不將樹運輸回家的時候。
And when Christmas is over, if it ends up in landfill, the tree’s carbon footprint will be higher.
當聖誕節結束時，如果它最終被填埋，碳足跡會更高。
But its carbon footprint will be lowered if it’s recycled or composted.
如果被回收或堆肥，它的碳足跡將會降低。
That’s the process of allowing it to decay and then adding it to the ground to improve soil quality.
那是允許它腐爛然後添加到土壤中以改善土壤質量的過程。
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.
另一方面，假樹通常是進口的，通常不能被回收，但是，正如菲菲所說，它可以重複使用。
But without any type of Christmas tree, where would we put all those lights I mentioned earlier, Sam?
但是如果沒有任何類型的聖誕樹，我們應該把我之前提到的那些燈放在哪裡呢，薩姆？
I asked you:
我問你：
In 2010, a Christmas tree in Belgium was awarded the world record for having the most lights on it,
在2010年，比利時的一棵聖誕樹因其上面的燈最多而被授予世界記錄，
but did you know how many?
但是你知道有多少個嗎？
What do you say, Sam?
你說是什麼，薩姆？
I think I said 19,672.
我想我說的是19,672個。
Ooo, dear, not very bright I’m afraid!
哦，親愛的，恐怕不是很亮啊！
There were in fact 194, 672!
實際上是194,672個！
Wow – think of the electricity that must have used!
哇——想想那得用了多少電啊！
Indeed.
的確如此。
Well let’s?enlighten?everyone with some of the vocabulary we』ve discussed today.
好吧，讓我們用今天討論的一些詞彙來「照亮」大家吧。
OK, well we started talking about?indulging.
好吧，我們開始討論「放縱」這個詞。
That means allowing yourself to have perhaps too much of something you enjoy.
那指的是允許自己享受或許太多你喜歡的事物。
When something is?symbolic, it represents something important.
當某物是象徵性的，它代表的是重要的東西。
And the word?festive?describes the joyful feeling you get when celebrating something like Christmas.
「節日的」這個詞形容的是在慶祝像聖誕節這樣的節日時，你的喜悅之情。
Like the festive jumper you are wearing today, Neil – very jolly!
尼爾，就像你今天穿的節日針織套衫一樣——非常歡樂！
OK, next we mentioned?sustainable,
好的，接下來我們提到了「可持續的」，
which means the ability to do something over a long period of time without harming the environment.
這指的是在不破壞環境的情況下長期做某事的能力。
Economical?describes doing something that doesn’t cost a lot of money,
「經濟的」是指做某事沒有花很多錢，
it’s good value.
很划算。
And when something is?composted, it is allowed to decay and it turns in to compost,
當某種東西被堆肥時，它就會腐爛，然後轉化成堆肥，
which can be added back into the soil to improve its quality.
它可以被添加到土壤中以提高土壤質量。
Thank you, Sam.
謝謝你，薩姆。
And that brings us to the end of 6 Minute English for now.
我們到了六分鐘英語的最後了。
It just leaves us to wish you a very happy Christmas.
我們祝你聖誕快樂。
Goodbye.
再見。
Byebye.
拜拜。
英文、圖片來源：BBC Learning English