新西兰英语 44 The Weather

　　This weekend, parts of New Zealand have experienced¹ some very violent weather. A low pressure system coming from northern Australia hit Northland on Saturday and lasted for about 36 hours. The system moved south east to the Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty, around Tauranga. It brought heavy rain, flooding in some areas and strong winds. Winds reached 130 km per hour in some places. The wind brought down trees and tore off roofing iron. It also brought down power lines. About 60,000 houses in the Auckland region² lost their power and electricity companies said it was too dangerous for their workers to restore³ the power while the winds were so strong. In some places, people may have to wait three days before they get their power back again.
The Met office warned about this weather late last week. They warned people with boats to make sure their boats were tied up safely. However, three people died in boating accidents during the storm. One was a canoeist⁴ and the other two were on a commercial fishing boat near Opotoki in the Bay of Plenty. Two others from the boat were rescued.
Meanwhile a southerly hit the lower North Island bringing snow to the Desert Road and to Mt Ruapehu. Around 10.30 on Saturday morning, the Whakapapa ski field on Mt Ruapehu closed but it was very difficult for skiers to drive down the mountain again. Some had to leave their cars and travel to safety by bus. They went back the next day to get their cars.
The Met office is warning of another storm coming in about a week’s time. Meanwhile this coming week looks to be wet over most of New Zealand.

1 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

2 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

3 restore   

vt.把…恢复原状；归还，交还

参考例句：

• A good rest will restore you to health.好好休息一下可使你恢复健康。
• His recent success has helped to restore his faith in his own ability.他最近取得的成功使他恢复了对自己能力的信任。

4 canoeist   

n.划独木舟的人

参考例句：

• The canoeist succeeded in going over the rapids. 操独木舟者成功地渡过了激流。 来自互联网