Parents seek the most popular presents 父母为孩子寻找热门玩具 (来源：英语学习门户 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

Which lucky children will get the must-have toys this year?
There are only 12 shopping days until Christmas, and the British public is going present-shopping crazy. But some parents might have left it too late to buy the present their child really wants for Christmas.
Every year there seems to be a certain craze which sweeps across Britain, whether through clever marketing or peer pressure, so that practically every child in the country wants the same thing for Christmas.

Of course, with thousands of parents trying to make their child's Christmas, it's quite easy for the most popular presents to get sold out before everyone can buy one. This leads to parents going to extraordinary lengths to find the desired gift.

In past years, the most favoured toys have included Tracy Island, from the 'Thunderbirds' TV series, and Buzz Lightyear, from the 'Toy Story' film.This years must-have present is the Nintendo Wii, an indication that British children are becoming more and more technologically savvy.

Other presents which are expected to top Christmas wish-lists this year are several toys related to TV programmes, such as popular science-fiction series 'Doctor Who', and pre-school sensation 'In the Night Garden', as well as the main character from the 'Transformers' movie.

As parents desperately search shops and online retailers for the gifts their children want, some people are cashing in. Those who predicted the trends bought some of the top presents earlier in the year, and can now sell them for great profits on online auction websites.

Special stock-check websites have been set up to alert parents as soon as a certain item becomes available anywhere. But with so many people signed up it'll still be a race against time to buy the toys before they sell out again.

Some children will inevitably be disappointed on Christmas morning, but let's hope that the chocolates, Christmas dinner and the many other presents will make up for it.
 

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GLOSSARY 词汇表 (收听发音, 请单击英语单词)

shopping days
购物日
peer pressure
同行压力
going to extraordinary lengths
不遗余力的
savvy
有见识的
science-fiction
科幻
cashing in
（抓住机会捞一把）赚钱
trends
潮流
auction
拍卖
to alert
通知；提醒
inevitably
难免地
 marketing
市场推销
to make
使…成功
must-have
必备的
wish-lists
（盼望的）礼物清单
sensation
轰动
predicted
预测的
signed up
登记
stock-check
查看进货
a race against time
和时间赛跑
make up for it
补偿