圣诞临近 柏林闹起“圣诞老人荒”(图)

Berlin faces Santa shortage as Christmas nears

　　Berlin is facing an acute shortage of Santas four weeks from Christmas, the head of a Father Christmas placement agency said on Monday.

　　德国首都柏林一家圣诞老人职业介绍中心的负责人11月27日表示，在距离圣诞节仅剩下大约4周时，该市却出现了圣诞老人严重紧缺的现象。

　　The director of Berlin's "Heinzelmaennchen" agency that acts as an intermediary for 5,000 families that order the 20-minute visits from a real live Santa Claus each year on December 24 said he was having trouble getting enough qualified help this year.

　　这家中介机构负责为柏林5000个家庭在每年12月24日提供圣诞老人上门服务，届时将会有一名由真人扮成的圣诞老人前往各个家庭进行时间为20分钟的登门拜访。按照该机构主管的说法，他今年很可能无法找到足够多的合格雇员。

　　"We need at least 300 Santas to meet the demand but we only have about 100 signed up so far," said Rene Heydeck, 40, who also runs the agency's "Father Christmas desk". 现年40岁的雷内·海德克说：“我们需要至少300个圣诞老人才能满足各方面的需求，但到目前为止仅有大约100人与我们签约。

　　"We prefer chubby men, of course, ideally with a real beard but we're not picky and take what we get," he told Reuters.

　　我们偏爱那些体形较胖的男人，当然，最好真的长着一脸胡须，不过我们也并非吹毛求疵之人，原则上是来者不拒。”

　　The Santas, many of whom are students, earn 28 euros (19 pounds) for each performance -- bringing in a sack of presents provided outside the door by parents and handing out the gifts. They start at about 3 p.m. and are finished by about 9 p.m.

　　这些圣诞老人(其中大部分人是在校学生)每次上门服务可以挣到28欧元，他们先是在门外得到由孩子父母提供的一个装满各种礼物的袋子，然后再走进屋内将这些物品分发给在场的孩子们。这些人的服务一般会在当天下午3点左右开始，一直要持续到晚上10点前后才告结束。

　　The 300 Santas visit an average of 10 to 12 families, although some have managed up to 20, Heydeck said. In return, the Santas must buy their costumes for 45 euros and have to pay the agency 15 percent of their earnings.

　　海德克还指出，这些圣诞老人平均每人要访问10到12个家庭，但有些人则会走入多达20户家庭。正所谓有得必有失，他们必须花上45欧元来购买所需的服装，此外还要把自己收入的15%交还给该机构。

　　"If they're quick, they can earn a nice sum," Heydeck said of the men, who range from a student of 20 to a 72-year-old retired professor "with a real beard" now in his 28th season. Children between 2 and 7 "still believe in Santa," he said.

　　海德克在谈到那些圣诞老人时说：“如果他们腿脚麻利的话，那就完全可以赚上一大笔钱。他们中年龄最小的是一位年仅20岁的学生，而最年长者则非一位72岁高龄的退休大学教授莫属，此人真的长着大胡子，今年已经是他第28次参加这一活动了。那些年龄在2岁到7岁的孩子仍然对圣诞老人深信不疑。”

　　"In a lot of families in Berlin it's a tradition that carries on even after the children grow older and stop believing," Heydeck said.

　　海德克说：“对于柏林的很多家庭来说，请圣诞老人光临家中已经成为了一种传统，即便在孩子们已经长大且不再相信圣诞老人时，此项活动也还是要继续进行下去的。” (文/ 张咏)