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美國：經濟不景氣圣誕禮物縮水
Santa finds kids giving shorter lists in recession

[ 2011-12-07 17:01]

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More and more, Santas say the children on their laps are asking for less for themselves — and Santa is promising less as well.

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A job for their mom or dad. Money for the heating bill. Food or a place to live. Maybe gloves or boots.

More and more, Santas say the children on their laps are asking for less for themselves — and Santa is promising less as well.

With unemployment stubbornly high, more homes in foreclosure and the economic outlook dim, many children who visit Santa are all too aware of the struggle to make ends meet.

"These children understand the conditions around the home when they ask for stuff," said Richard Holden, a 69-year-old Santa from Gastonia, N.C. "They understand when there are other children in the family, they need to be cautious or thoughtful of them as well and not ask for 10 to 12 items."

Cliff Snider, who's been playing Santa since he was a teenager, agrees.

"I think the parents are saying, 'It's an economic thing. Just list two to three things you really want to have,'" he said. "Parents are trying to encourage the children to be thrifty."

And the 64-year-old Snider does his best to help out. When he gets a big-ticket request, he typically responds: "There's an awful lot of children asking for that this year. What else do you want?"

At the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, Santas learn lines like, "Wow, that's a big gift. Is there anything else you might like?"

These days, though, Santas are having to use it less and less.

"I think it's becoming more popular not to have that long list," said Tom Valent, dean of the Howard Santa school in Midland, Mich., which gets more than 3,000 letters to Santa a year and just graduated its 75th class. "Families are teaching their children to be as much of a giver as a receiver."

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)

給父親或者母親的一份工作；取暖費；食物或住所；也可能是手套或靴子。

圣誕老人們表示，孩子們的圣誕愿望如今更少顧及自己，而與此同時，圣誕老人的許諾也越來越少了。

伴隨失業率持續處于高位、更多家庭面臨喪失抵押品贖回權、以及經濟前景堪憂，很多拜訪圣誕老人的孩子都過于清楚維持生計的艱難。

來自美國北卡羅來納州加斯托尼亞市的69歲的圣誕老人理查德?霍頓說：“這些孩子們在要東西時，很清楚家里的情況。他們明白家里有別的孩子時，就需要用心些，想到兄弟姐妹，不能要10件到12件禮物。”

從青少年時期就扮演圣誕老人的克里夫?施耐德深有同感。

他說：“我覺得家長們都說，這是經濟狀況決定的。列出你真正想要的兩三樣東西吧。家長們在試著鼓勵孩子節約。”

64歲的施耐德也在幫忙。如果孩子們要高價禮物，他一般會回答說：“今年有太多孩子要這個了，你想來點兒別的嗎？”

在查爾斯?W?霍華德圣誕老人學校，圣誕老人們學著這樣說，“哦，這可是份大禮。有什么別的你可能喜歡嗎？”

但最近，圣誕老人們越來越不需要這樣說了。

密歇根州米德蘭德霍華德圣誕老人學校的院長湯姆?瓦倫特說：“我覺得如今簡短的禮物清單越來越流行了。家長們教育孩子在接受的同時，也要贈予。”該學校每年收到三千多封寄給圣誕老人的信件，第75期學員剛剛畢業。

相關閱讀

（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯：陳丹妮）

Vocabulary:

foreclosure: 喪失抵押品贖回權

make ends meet: 量入而出；使收支相抵

big-ticket: 高價的

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