中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
 An undated photo shows a Christmas tree decorated with presents. Two start-ups in Canada are offering an eco-friendly Christmas tree rental service for the holiday period.
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Going "green" has never been so festive as in westernmost Canada where two start-ups are offering an eco-friendly Christmas tree rental service for the holiday period. For about 100 dollars, Evergrow Christmas Trees and Carbonsync Christmas will drop off a potted tree at your home or business and pick it up three weeks later after all the presents have been opened and Santa has parked his sleigh. Carbonsync plans to donate its trees to habitat restoration groups for replanting after Christmas, while Evergrow says it will return them to a nursery to be cared for until next Christmas when they may be rented out again. Trees normally cost four times less on average, but are usually turned into mulch or sent to garbage dumps after the holidays in most North American cities. "What (folks) are doing now is they're growing these hordes of trees everywhere in the Fraser Valley to ship to Vancouver," Brad Major of Carbonsync Christmas told public broadcaster CBC. "These trees grow anywhere from six to 12 years to be used for one Christmas, and all these trees go to the landfill, and it's this huge pile of trees," he said. "It's like the biggest waste of a resource." The firms' trees will also continue to draw CO2 from the atmosphere, doing their bit to help curb global warming instead of ending up as waste. And if a family wishes, they may even rent the same tree year after year from Evergrow, as long as it has not grown too large to fit in their living room. (Read by Guanny Liu. Guanny Liu is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.) 點擊查看更多雙語新聞
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環(huán)保也可以這么有節(jié)日氣氛。日前，加拿大最西部地區(qū)的兩家新興企業(yè)推出一項生態(tài)環(huán)保型圣誕樹的租賃服務。 只需花費約100美元，Evergrow圣誕樹公司和Carbonsync圣誕公司就會將一棵盆栽圣誕樹送到你家或辦公室。三周后，在節(jié)日徹底過完后，公司再收走圣誕樹。 Carbonsync公司計劃在圣誕過完后將圣誕樹捐贈給環(huán)保團體進行再次種植，而Evergrow圣誕樹公司則表示將把圣誕樹交給一家苗圃進行培育，等來年圣誕節(jié)時再出租。 圣誕樹的價格一般為樹木均價的四分之一，但在大多北美城市，人們過完圣誕后通常會將圣誕樹做成腐葉土，或干脆丟棄。 Carbonsync圣誕公司的布拉德?梅杰在接受公共廣播機構(gòu)加拿大廣播公司采訪時說：“現(xiàn)在我們的做法是，在菲沙河谷大面積種樹，然后將它們運往溫哥華。” “這些樹需要6至12年才能長成，但只用來裝扮一次圣誕節(jié)。之后這些樹全被送往垃圾處理場，數(shù)量十分龐大。這是對資源的最大浪費。” 該公司出租的圣誕樹在回收后可繼續(xù)吸收大氣中的二氧化碳，為防止全球變暖盡一份微薄之力，而不是被當作垃圾丟掉。 如果人們愿意，甚至可以每年在Evergrow公司租同一棵樹，只要它們不要長得大到客廳容不下。 相關(guān)閱讀 （中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍） |
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Vocabulary: start-up: a business or an undertaking that has recently begun operation（新興企業(yè)） nursery: a place where young trees or other plants are raised for transplanting, for sale, or for experimental study（保育室） mulch：a covering, as of straw, compost, or plastic sheeting, spread on the ground around plants to prevent excessive evaporation or erosion, enrich the soil, inhibit weed growth, etc（護根，覆蓋物） landfill：垃圾，垃圾填埋 doing one's bit: 盡自己的一份力量 |
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