中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 A traditional Christmas party is held at the Elysee Palace in Paris December 14, 2005. |
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They've been foraging in the attic late at night and rummaging under the bed: Beware the Christmas present peekers. About one in three British adults already know what they will receive for Christmas - because they have snuck a peek at their presents, a new study showed this week. The survey of 1,000 people by British insurance company insurastore.com showed that 37 percent of British adults admitted to searching for their presents, and out of those, eight in 10 were successful in the hunt. "Kids aside, it seems even adults have a fascination for what Father Christmas might have bought them and keeping surprises under wraps is a considerable challenge in any household," insurastore Managing Director Paul Maddicott said. One in five British adults have torn the wrapping paper enough to be able to identify a gift and one in 20 admitted to unwrapping presents completely, the survey revealed. The average snooper spends an hour and 15 minutes seeking out Christmas gifts. Respondents ranked the top of the wardrobe and under the bed as the most common hiding places. However, more than half of those who discovered what they were getting for Christmas (56 percent) later regretted their curiosity and said they wished they had not looked. Four in 10 even complained that they had spoiled Christmas. "We'd definitely urge anyone who's curious to try and resist temptation as the spoilt surprise and feelings of guilt are likely to take the fun out of Xmas day," Mr Maddicott said. The study also found that women were more inquisitive than men, with 40 percent of women admitting to hunting for presents compared to 33 percent of men. But women were also more likely to own up with one in 20 admitting to their boyfriend or husband that they had sneaked a peek at their presents. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
要當心偷看圣誕禮物的人——這些人最近常常深夜在閣樓上搜尋，在床底下翻找禮物。 本周發布的一項新研究發現，約有三分之一的英國成年人已經知道他們圣誕節會收到什么禮物了，因為他們已經偷偷地看過了。 英國保險公司insurastore.com一項涵蓋了1000人的調查顯示，37%的英國成年人承認搜尋過自己的圣誕禮物，其中有80%的人成功地找到了禮物。 insurastore公司董事總經理保羅?麥迪科特說：“不只是孩子，似乎連大人都很想知道圣誕老人會帶給自己什么禮物。不管是誰，在家里把禮物藏起來都是一個相當大的挑戰。” 調查顯示，五分之一的英國成年人會撕開部分包裝紙，以確認禮物是什么，而5%的人承認他們將包裝紙整個撕掉。 偷窺者們平均花費1小時15分鐘就能找到禮物。被調查者選出的最常見的藏禮物位置是“衣柜頂”和“床底”。 但是，那些找到禮物的人中超過半數（56%）過后會對自己的好奇感到懊悔，希望自己沒有偷看過。40%的人甚至抱怨說他們把整個圣誕節氣氛給毀了。 麥迪科特先生說：“我們力勸那些很想偷看禮物的人收起他們的好奇心，抵制住誘惑。要不然不但驚喜被破壞了，還會心生內疚，這很可能會使你的圣誕節過得索然無味。” 調查還發現，女人的好奇心比男人強，有40%的女人承認找過禮物，而只有33%的男人這么做。但是女人“招供”的可能性也更大，5%的女人向男朋友或丈夫坦白她們偷看過禮物。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 崔旭燕 編輯：陳丹妮） |
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Vocabulary: forage: to search for something, especially using the hands （尤指用手）搜尋（東西） rummage: to move things around carelessly while searching for something（翻尋；亂翻；搜尋） snooper: 窺探者 |
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