weekly news: 鑽石聖誕樹亮相日本 價值180萬美元

Diamond-covered Christmas tree on sale in Japan
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　　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.
　　
% d. [- o& ~+ D1 H- @# f; g3 u. S　　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.
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　　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.
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　　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.
　　
) Z# \  h# V( ^+ d! s0 s* @$ O　　In Japan, Christmas Eve has taken on a meaning similar to Valentine』s Day, being the time for romance among young couples.
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　　 不惜在聖誕節小「揮霍」一把的人注意了：日本一家百貨商場正在出售一款鑲有400顆鑽石、價值180萬美元的聖誕樹！
　　
2 U% b* Y) l4 ^　　這顆聖誕樹呈小塔狀，樹身由玫瑰干花組成，還配有一隻泰迪熊。日本高島屋百貨連鎖店從本週三起開始銷售這款鑽石聖誕樹，這顆聖誕樹開價2.007億日元，象徵著今年的年份「2007」，由此拉開商場歲末大促銷的序幕。
　　
　　據高島屋百貨連鎖店介紹，這顆聖誕樹高40厘米，樹上鑲的共100克拉的鑽石都產自南非和澳大利亞。
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　　高島屋百貨連鎖店聲稱，「小鑽石就像清晨花瓣上的露珠，閃爍著迷人的光芒；而2克拉和3克拉的鑽石則以其高貴的光芒吸引著傾慕者」。
　　
: n# b$ o, p) E) ]1 `　　這顆鑽石聖誕樹是由一家名叫Claude Quinquaud的法國巴黎花店設計的。
　　
- [  p6 z0 [! S+ K　　儘管亞洲的基督教信徒很少，但近年來，很多亞洲人也過起了西方的聖誕節，人們都想趁機享受一下購物與聚會的樂趣，而體驗浪漫更是這個節媽養我一大主題。
　　
　　在日本，平安夜和情人節有著近乎相同的意義，年輕夫婦和情侶們會在這一天盡情享受二人世界的浪漫。
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　　芝加哥：美國「最興奮的」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.
　　
7 V9 g! _& u- r0 u! n  `7 \　　Chicagoans eat more chocolate and drink more cola than other U.S.urbanites, and are among the top consumers of energy drinks and coffee.
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　　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.
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; w9 t) C( Y( c" t0 p　　Halfof all the people questioned in the poll said they drank coffee everyday, followed by 21 percent who drank caffeinated cola.
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　　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.
　　
　　
/ @1 x3 Q) |- g3 V6 N　　 一項最新調查表明，具有「風城」之稱的芝加哥同時也是美國「最興奮的」城市，因為芝加哥人的咖啡因消費量居美國各大城市之首。
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　　調查顯示，芝加哥的巧克力和可樂消費量居各城市之首，其能量飲品及咖啡的消費量也位居全國前列。
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# r" u- c  ?8 L9 E1 B　　該項由「普林斯市場調查公司」開展的民意調查表明，多數芝加哥人認為咖啡因是個好東西。
　　
　　此外，坦帕、邁阿密、菲尼克斯和亞特蘭大分別位居「咖啡因消費量最高的城市」第二至第五位；舊金山、費城、紐約、底特律和巴爾的摩的咖啡因消費量最低。
　　
8 h8 q2 U( H6 c4 G　　委託開展該調查的HealthSaver保健服務機構的發言人托德‧史密斯說：「一些在人們印象中很忙碌的城市——比如舊金山、費城和紐約的咖啡因消費量居然最低。」
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) \* D3 s6 x- q* @8 U+ X3 c　　該項在美國20個主要城市開展的調查共有兩千人參加，主要針對咖啡、茶、巧克力、蘇打水、能量飲品及咖啡因片劑在這些城市的消費情況進行了訪問。
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( o- @# Q# I5 ?' _　　調查結果表明，西雅圖的含咖啡因咖啡消費量最高。近60%的西雅圖居民稱，咖啡是最難戒掉的咖啡因飲料。
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0 k; @, w6 \! v9 q0 @; g- U1 g　　據HealthSaver保健機構介紹，隨著「高端」咖啡、能量飲品及綠茶的日趨流行，全世界的咖啡因消費量也進一步增加。
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% O  v  K: u2 z" W- S  u　　近一半的受訪者稱，他們每天都喝咖啡；21%的人稱他們每天喝含咖啡因的可樂。
　　
* L; E9 L, k/ Z- h1 N3 ^. f. s　　紐約和舊金山的居民最不喜歡咖啡因。超過70%的受訪對像稱自己對咖啡因不感興趣。調查發現，年齡越大的人越會覺得，咖啡是最難以割捨的咖啡因製品。