世界各地圣诞节庆祝活动

 　　A remote village in northern Finland, reputed to be Santa's Village, is busy preparing for the Christmas holiday.

　　There, Santa says he has tons of letters to read and sacks to fill.

　　"Preparations are going well, everything is on schedule. Because one good thing about Christmas is it's always at the same time, Christmas Eve is always December 24th. So, keeping that in mind, you plan everything and everything is in order."世界各地圣诞节庆祝活动Every year, children write half-a-million letters from around the world, which are delivered to Santa.

　　This year, the largest number of letters have been arriving from Italy, followed by the UK and, surprisingly, China.

　　Here on the Chinese mainland, Christmas is not a recognized holiday, even though it is celebrated¹ by many on the mainland, and is a recognized holiday in Hong Kong and Macau.

　　Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, where summer is starting to hit its peak in Brazil, Chimpanzees, orangutans, elephants and other mammals at a zoo in Rio de Janeiro are being given seasonal² fruits and desserts as their Christmas presents, much to the delight of the crowds who have shown up to wish their animal friends a Merry Christmas.

　　"It's interesting, especially at this time of the year when we give value to people and think of how we can help and be closer to the animals."Meanwhile, the homeless and the poor are being served a free lunch ahead of Christmas at a pub in London.

　　Max Kalton is the manager of the pub, which organized a campaign on social media to help raise money for the event.

　　"People have been coming here and just giving us the money over the bar to help. Everything we raise will go towards people who are doing it on a daily basis, whereas³ this is just a meal. We just wanted to cheer people up at Christmas."Meanwhile, in a small village of Bosnia, a local farmer in the formerly⁴ war-torn country has realized his childhood dream by building a festive⁵ wonderland adorned⁶ with over 15-thousand Christmas lights.

　　His work has turned the snow-covered village into a sight one would expect to see in a fairy tale.

　　And in North America, the crews at NATO headquarters in Colorado are preparing to begin their annual Santa tracking, with radar⁷ monitors giving hourly updates as to the location of Santa Claus as he and his reindeer⁸ make their way around the world.

　　For CRI, this is Wang Mengzhen.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

3 whereas   

conj.而，却，反之

参考例句：

• They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子，而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。

4 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

5 festive   

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。

6 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。