【明報專訊】Christmas trees have become highly sought after in America. The reasons for this are twofold. First, there was a decline in the number of Christmas tree farmers, who had been discouraged by the time and physical effort the business takes, thereby reducing the number of products. Second, in 2018 the grown-ups in the US, most of them millennials (千禧世代), bought about 5.4 million more real trees than they did in 2017, which has led to a run (爭購) on Christmas trees. The overall increase in the purchases of real Christmas trees is 20% in 2018! Do you like Christmas trees? What do you like about them?

“ Bill: I saw a monkey stealing our Christmas trees... ”

“ Eason: Oh my lovely money-spinning trees! ”

■The Smarties wish you a Merry Christmas! Check out Vol. 266 of Smarties' Power English on 8 January 2020!

◆(P2)News feed：Kim's paradise / A significant piece of wood / The measles outbreak

◆(P3)Comic：A meaningful Christmas

◆(P4)Game：Santa Claus Village

◆(P5)DIY：Christmas tree card

◆(P6)Horizon：Christmas around the world

◆(P7)Animal：Bowmouth guitarfish

◆(P8)Quiz：News quiz

■Today's Ming Pao News from Hong Kong, China and the world：bit.ly/2ZFAOSaValid for 30 days

[Smarties' Power English 第265期]