圣诞老人真的存在在这个世界上吗?_大学英语阅读

圣诞老人真的存在在这个世界上吗?

I remember believing in Santa when I was a very young girl. However, as I grew older, I learned many facts that “proved” his existence as false. Always inquisitive by nature and very keen on the scientific method of experimentation, I was determined to use tests and observations to determine whether Santa Claus was real.

The first year of tests happened when I was 5. I decided that if I stayed up all night on Christmas Eve, I could see if Santa really did come down the chimney. However, that was a futile attempt. I fell asleep that year, and when I woke up I saw that the milk and cookies I left for Santa were all gone and I had a beautifully wrapped present under the tree.

The next year, I was able to test if location was an issue with Santa’s deliveries. That year, my family spent Christmas with the family of one of my mother’s friends. At the time, I decided that if Santa was all-knowing (as the song says “He knows where you are sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake!) he would know I wasn’t home. Sure enough, there was a pretty pink package waiting for me the next morning, and inside was a pretty pink bathrobe.

At age 7, I came up with my ultimate test to see if Santa was real. That year, I didn’t send out my Christmas letter to Santa. At first it was because I didn’t want anything for Christmas, but this turned into a plot. By this point, I already decided that Santa wasn’t real, but I wanted empirical evidence to support this (it’s much harder to try to prove something doesn’t exist, rather than trying to prove that it does). That year was interesting, because on Christmas Eve, my mother dragged me to our local Wal-Mart and led me around the toy section. I refused to say a word, but did let my eye linger on a ballet set. I figured that “Santa” wouldn’t know what to get me because he shouldn’t be able to read my mind. However, mother would know everything that caught my eye in the store. If I got the ballet set the next morning, I would have my evidence. Christmas morning, there was the ballet set, sitting under the tree. As I didn’t use it much, mother ended up returning it a few days later. She claimed Santa was generous enough to leave a receipt. That was the end to my mission to discover the existence of Santa.