奇闻：世界各地圣诞怪事大PK

时间：2008-01-08 08:09:37

（单词翻译:单击）

 

Christmas is coming!
 
Santa shot at in Rio. Electric eels2 light up Japanese Christmas tree. Singapore elephants get festive3 gift of boots for jumbo pain.

Around the globe, Christmas invariably offers tales of the wacky, wild and downright weird4 -- and the 2007 festivities are certainly no exception.

In a Rio de Janeiro slum, drug traffickers opened fire on a helicopter carrying Santa Claus to a Christmas party, apparently5 mistaking it for a police helicopter.

Poor Santa is also under fire for being too fat.

The acting6 US surgeon general said a thinner Santa would be a better role model for kids in a land battling obesity7.

A British shopping centre ordered its Santas to attend a month-long boot camp with exercises before greeting children.

In the season of mass consumption, going green can win brownie points.

In Hong Kong, environmentalists are not amused, arguing that all the glittering neon Santas and rainbows of flashy lights are devouring8 too much electricity.

But, in sharp contrast, a Japanese aquarium9 decided10 on a novel way to save energy -- it used electricity generated by an electric eel1 to light up its Christmas tree.

A Canadian man said he sold his son's video game, a prized Christmas gift, on eBay after catching11 him smoking marijuana.

In Singapore, vets12 gave Asian elephants Tun and Jamilah the perfect Christmas gift -- specially13 made waterproof14 boots to relieve chronic15 foot lesions.

And cheeky Australian thieves stole 16 tonnes of ham and bacon from a Sydney warehouse16 and then wrote "Thanks. Merry Christmas" on a wall.

But surely the prize for the most bizarre Christmas charity gift must go to the International Rhino17 Foundation -- an auction18 of rhino dung which could be presented as Christmas gift！


圣诞老人在里约热内卢遭到枪击。日本用电鳗点亮圣诞树。新加坡的大象收到了圣诞礼物“止痛靴”……

每到圣诞节，世界各地总会上演千奇百怪的圣诞故事，今年的圣诞节当然也不例外。

在（巴西的）里约热内卢的一个贫民窟附近，一架载有“圣诞老人”的直升飞机遭到贩毒分子的枪击。这架直升飞机送“圣诞老人”去参加圣诞晚会，显然被贩毒分子当作警察的直升机了。

不仅如此，可怜的圣诞老人还因体形过胖而遭到“炮轰”。

美国公共卫生署代理署长称，在一个与肥胖进行“艰苦斗争”的国度，圣诞老人如果能变得更苗条一些，也许能成为孩子们更为理想的行动榜样。

英国的一家购物中心要求其“圣诞老人”在圣诞节与小朋友们见面之前，必须参加为期一个月的“身体集训营”。

作为一年中的消费旺季，圣诞期间更应该加强环保意识。

香港的环保主义者们可不会被五光十色的节日霓虹所迷惑，他们称带有霓虹灯的圣诞老人和七彩闪光灯消耗了大量电能。

与此相反，日本一家水族馆则想出了一个新奇的节能办法。它利用电鳗鱼发的电来点亮圣诞树彩灯。

在加拿大，一名男子由于发现儿子吸食大麻，因此他在eBay上卖掉了儿子心爱的圣诞礼物——一款电脑游戏。

在新加坡，兽医为两头名为图恩和雅米拉的亚洲大象带来了最合适的圣诞礼物——特制防水止痛靴。

澳大利亚的一群厚颜无耻的小偷从悉尼的一家肉店仓库偷走了16吨的火腿和熏肉，还在墙上留言说“谢谢。圣诞快乐！”。

而“最奇异的圣诞慈善礼物”大奖应该属于“国际犀牛基金会”。近日，该组织举办了一个“犀牛粪”拍卖会，有兴趣的人可以拿它作圣诞礼物哦！

 


Vocabulary:

under fire:指遭到抨击

brownie points:指“印象加分”
 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 eel bjAzz     
n.鳗鲡
参考例句：
  • He used an eel spear to catch an eel.他用一只捕鳗叉捕鳗鱼。
  • In Suzhou,there was a restaurant that specialized in eel noodles.苏州有一家饭馆，他们那里的招牌菜是鳗鱼面。
2 eels eels     
abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）
参考例句：
  • Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
  • She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。
3 festive mkBx5     
adj.欢宴的，节日的
参考例句：
  • It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
  • We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。
4 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的
参考例句：
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
5 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
6 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。
7 obesity Dv1ya     
n.肥胖，肥大
参考例句：
  • One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
  • Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。
8 devouring c4424626bb8fc36704aee0e04e904dcf     
吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光
参考例句：
  • The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
  • He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。
9 aquarium Gvszl     
n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸
参考例句：
  • The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
  • I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。
10 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
11 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住
参考例句：
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
12 vets 3e28450179d627638b3132ebb3ba0906     
abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗
参考例句：
  • I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
  • In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网
13 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地
参考例句：
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
14 waterproof Ogvwp     
n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水
参考例句：
  • My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
  • All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。
15 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的
参考例句：
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。
16 warehouse 6h7wZ     
n.仓库；vt.存入仓库
参考例句：
  • We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
  • The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。
17 rhino xjmztD     
n.犀牛，钱, 现金
参考例句：
  • The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
  • They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。
18 auction 3uVzy     
n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖
参考例句：
  • They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
  • They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

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