新西兰英语 37 Winter Solstice

　　Yesterday was the winter solstice, the time when the sun is furthest away from us. The sun rises around 7.30 am in Auckland and 8.20 am in Dunedin because it is further south. In Auckland the sun sets at 11 minutes past 5, and in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, just before 5pm. This is the longest night and the shortest day. For the next week or more, we won’t see any difference in the time of sunrise and sunset. In the Northern Hemisphere¹ it is the summer solstice with the shortest night and the longest day.
We also call this time of year mid-winter although it is not the middle of our winter. Our coldest weather usually starts about now and lasts for the next six weeks. Many people like to celebrate mid-winter in different ways. Some people invite their friends to a mid-winter Christmas dinner because for Europeans a traditional Christmas is in winter. Perhaps they just want to have a celebration in the middle of winter.
Another custom is a mid-winter swim in the sea. In most towns and cities in New Zealand, people take a quick dip in the sea on the shortest day. Sometimes they raise money for charity at the same time. In the Antarctica, the scientists at Scott Base also have a quick dip in the sea to celebrate the winter solstice. They first have to cut a hole in the ice, then each person is lowered into the sea wearing a safety harness². The water temperature is around -2 degrees; it doesn’t freeze because of the salt in the water.
Maori celebrate the beginning of winter with Matariki. Traditionally, Matariki is the time of the first new Moon after the Matariki (or Pleiades or Seven Sisters) group of stars appears in the sky. This year it was June 6th although the celebrations go on for a month or more. Many New Zealanders now join in these Matariki celebrations.
Other cultures also celebrate the beginning of winter but they choose a different date. In China, it is not the solstice or the equinox – that is halfway³ between the two solstices. The beginning of winter is celebrated⁴ halfway between the equinox and the solstice, about 91 days before the winter solstice.

1 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

2 harness   

n.马具；类似马具的装备；vt.给上马具

参考例句：

• He paid ten dollars for the new harness.他花十美元买了这件马具。
• I harness the horse to the cart. 我把马套在车上。

3 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。