weekly news: 钻石圣诞树亮相日本 价值180万美元

妃子笑

Diamond-covered Christmas tree on sale in Japan
　　
　　Forthose who don’t mind splurging a bit this holiday season, a Japanesedepartment store is offering a Christmas tree with 400 diamonds for acool 1.8 million dollars.
　　
　　Takashimaya department store chainis selling the tree -- actually a small tower of preserved roses with ateddy bear -- for a symbolic 200.7 million yen from Wednesday to kickoff its year-end sales campaign.
　　
　　The tree, which stands 40centimeters (16 inches) high, features about 100 carats of diamondsfrom southern Africa and Australia, the department store said.
　　
　　The smaller diamond pieces "sparkle charmingly like morning dew onpetals, while two-carat and three-carat pieces mesmerise admirers withtheir noble glow," the store said in a statement.
　　
　　The tree is based on a design by Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquaud.
　　
　　In recent years, many Asian people are embracing the western festivalas a great excuse for shopping, partying and even romance, though fewof them are Christians.
　　
　　In Japan, Christmas Eve has taken on a meaning similar to Valentine’s Day, being the time for romance among young couples.
　　
　　
　　
　　 不惜在圣诞节小“挥霍”一把的人注意了：日本一家百货商场正在出售一款镶有400颗钻石、价值180万美元的圣诞树！
　　
　　这颗圣诞树呈小塔状，树身由玫瑰干花组成，还配有一只泰迪熊。日本高岛屋百货连锁店从本周三起开始销售这款钻石圣诞树，这颗圣诞树开价2.007亿日元，象征着今年的年份“2007”，由此拉开商场岁末大促销的序幕。
　　
　　据高岛屋百货连锁店介绍，这颗圣诞树高40厘米，树上镶的共100克拉的钻石都产自南非和澳大利亚。
　　
　　高岛屋百货连锁店声称，“小钻石就像清晨花瓣上的露珠，闪烁着迷人的光芒；而2克拉和3克拉的钻石则以其高贵的光芒吸引着倾慕者”。
　　
　　这颗钻石圣诞树是由一家名叫Claude Quinquaud的法国巴黎花店设计的。
　　
　　尽管亚洲的基督教信徒很少，但近年来，很多亚洲人也过起了西方的圣诞节，人们都想趁机享受一下购物与聚会的乐趣，而体验浪漫更是这个节妈养我一大主题。
　　
　　在日本，平安夜和情人节有着近乎相同的意义，年轻夫妇和情侣们会在这一天尽情享受二人世界的浪漫。
　　
　　
　　
　　
　　
　　芝加哥：美国“最兴奋的”城市
　　Chicago most caffeinated U.S. city: survey
　　
　　
　　The windy city is also the most wired, according to a survey thatshowed people in Chicago are the most caffeinated in the United States.
　　
　　Chicagoans eat more chocolate and drink more cola than other U.S.urbanites, and are among the top consumers of energy drinks and coffee.
　　
　　They are also likely to say caffeine is good for you, according to the poll conducted by Prince Market Research.
　　
　　Tampa, Miami, Phoenix and Atlanta rounded out the top five mostcaffeinated cities, while residents of San Francisco, Philadelphia, NewYork, Detroit and Baltimore consumed the least caffeine.
　　
　　"It’s surprising perhaps that some places you may think have a lot ofhustle and bustle like San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York, werethe least caffeinated cities," said Todd Smith, a spokesman forHealthSaver, a healthcare service that commissioned the poll.
　　
　　The survey looked at consumption of coffee, tea, chocolate, sodas,energy drinks and caffeine pills in 20 major cities in the UnitedStates by interviewing 2,000 people.
　　
　　Seattle took the topspot in just caffeinated coffee consumption. Nearly 60 percent ofresidents in the city said coffee would be the most difficult caffeineproduct to give up.
　　
　　The growing popularity of "high-end"coffees, energy drinks and green tea has added to more caffeineconsumption around the world, according to HealthSaver.
　　
　　Halfof all the people questioned in the poll said they drank coffee everyday, followed by 21 percent who drank caffeinated cola.
　　
　　NewYorkers and San Franciscans were also among people most likely to saycaffeine is bad for you. More than 70 percent of people questioned inthe poll said they were not addicted to caffeine. The older the agegroup the more likely they were to say coffee would be the mostdifficult caffeinated product to give up.
　　
　　
　　 一项最新调查表明，具有“风城”之称的芝加哥同时也是美国“最兴奋的”城市，因为芝加哥人的咖啡因消费量居美国各大城市之首。
　　
　　调查显示，芝加哥的巧克力和可乐消费量居各城市之首，其能量饮品及咖啡的消费量也位居全国前列。
　　
　　该项由“普林斯市场调查公司”开展的民意调查表明，多数芝加哥人认为咖啡因是个好东西。
　　
　　此外，坦帕、迈阿密、菲尼克斯和亚特兰大分别位居“咖啡因消费量最高的城市”第二至第五位；旧金山、费城、纽约、底特律和巴尔的摩的咖啡因消费量最低。
　　
　　委托开展该调查的HealthSaver保健服务机构的发言人托德•史密斯说：“一些在人们印象中很忙碌的城市——比如旧金山、费城和纽约的咖啡因消费量居然最低。”
　　
　　该项在美国20个主要城市开展的调查共有两千人参加，主要针对咖啡、茶、巧克力、苏打水、能量饮品及咖啡因片剂在这些城市的消费情况进行了访问。
　　
　　调查结果表明，西雅图的含咖啡因咖啡消费量最高。近60%的西雅图居民称，咖啡是最难戒掉的咖啡因饮料。
　　
　　据HealthSaver保健机构介绍，随着“高端”咖啡、能量饮品及绿茶的日趋流行，全世界的咖啡因消费量也进一步增加。
　　
　　近一半的受访者称，他们每天都喝咖啡；21%的人称他们每天喝含咖啡因的可乐。
　　
　　纽约和旧金山的居民最不喜欢咖啡因。超过70%的受访对象称自己对咖啡因不感兴趣。调查发现，年龄越大的人越会觉得，咖啡是最难以割舍的咖啡因制品。