新西兰英语 119 Petrol Tax will Increase

　　The government has decided¹ to add 3 cents a litre in October this year and another 3 cents next year to the cost of petrol. This 6 cents will be used for more roads and mostly in Auckland.
Last year, the Labour government allowed regions³ to add a tax to petrol. Each region² then could spend the money the way they wanted to. Some regions said they wanted to spend more money on public transport and some regions did not want to add a tax to petrol at all. Auckland was planning to add 14 cents to the cost of petrol but this has now changed. This tax was partly to pay for improving the trains and bus services in Auckland. The plan was to have one ticket for trains, buses and ferries but this will probably not happen now.
The Green Party is not happy about the government’s decision to build more roads instead of improving public transport. More roads means more cars and more carbon in the atmosphere. In Auckland, the North Shore bus expressway has been very successful but the government does not plan to build more of these bus expressways.
However, there is a plan to make the trains in Auckland and Wellington electric instead of diesel⁴. The government says that these trains will be part of Kiwi Rail which will pay for them instead of the local region.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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 regions   

n.地区( region的名词复数 )；[数学]区域；（艺术、科学等的）领域；行政区

参考例句：

• A flying doctor service operates in remote regions. 在偏远地区有飞行医生服务。
• More powers are gradually being devolved to the regions. 正逐步向地方下放更多的权力。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。