Americans Love Christmas Trees-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:03.05]this is the Agriculture Report. [00:06.55]Americans love Christmas trees. [00:09.64]The National Christmas Tree Association says [00:13.93]more than 35 million of them [00:16.73]were bought last year in the United States. [00:20.47]In large American cities, [00:23.12]many people buy trees that have already been cut. [00:28.12]But many people drive to a tree farm [00:32.08]and cut them own tree. [00:35.40]Some buy one from a catalogue or online, [00:40.89]the tree is then delivered to their home. [00:44.80]The National Christmas Tree Association [00:48.49]represents growers and sellers [00:52.25]of most of the farm-grown Christmas tress [00:55.86]in the United States. [00:57.83]It estimated that 10.9 million artificial trees [01:03.31]were sold in 2012, [01:05.92]compared to 24.5 million natural trees. [01:12.23]The group says the average cost of a natural tree was $40, [01:18.69]and about $70 for an artificial one. [01:24.37]Most Christmas trees are now grown on farms. [01:28.12]The trees take six to ten years to grow. [01:32.92]In some states, fewer than half of the planted trees [01:38.13]survived the weather conditions to become Christmas trees. [01:43.01]To make sure there is always a supply, [01:47.55]farmers usually plant one to three new saplings [01:53.70]for every tree they cut down. [01:56.85]The Christmas Tree Association says [02:01.11]40 percent of people who bought natural trees last year [02:06.01]chose them at a farm and cut the tree themselves. [02:11.81]The Association says real trees are better for the environment, [02:18.12]that is because as Christmas trees grow, [02:21.61]they collect carbon dioxide and other gases [02:26.17]while supplying fresh oxygen. [02:29.60]The trees also protect water supplies. [02:33.23]Christmas trees are grown on soil [02:37.13]that does not support other crops. [02:40.28]Some people throw away their natural tree [02:44.98]when the holiday season ends. [02:47.88]But many People recycle them. [02:51.28]There are many ways to do this. [02:54.59]Christmas trees can be cut up to be used as fertilizer. [03:00.53]They can also be cut [03:02.78]and used to provent the wearing down of soil. [03:07.23]Christmas trees helped many communities near the ocean [03:12.04]following tropical Storm Sandy [03:14.63]on the eastern coast of the United States. [03:18.49]They were placed near large hills of sand [03:22.39]to prevent the sand from blowing away. [03:26.54]Artificia trees which come mostly from China [03:30.95]can be reused for years. [03:33.71]Families use them for an average of six to nine years [03:39.62]before throwing them away. [03:42.08]These trees can remain in a landfill for hundreds of years. [03:48.98]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Special English. [03:56.49]I'm Christopher Cruise.