新西兰英语 136 New Zealand Place Names

　　The New Zealand Geographic¹ Board is thinking about changing the names of the North Island and the South Island. The Board members think that these two islands should have Maori names instead. Certainly, North Island and South Island are not very interesting names.
Maori called the South Island ‘Te Wai Pounamu’. Pounamu is greenstone. It is also called jade². Pounamu is found in a few places in the South Island only, mainly in rivers on the West Coast. South Island Maori used it for tools and weapons because it is hard, and they also made beautiful things like earrings³. They also traded pounamu with North Island Maori.
The Maori name for the North Island was Te-Ika-a-Maui, the fish of Maui. Maori legend tells a story of Maui fishing up the North Island.
Captain Cook named some places like Cook Strait, and those names were used by Europeans. Many city names like Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, were given by the Europeans who settled in these areas. Some places were named after European heroes like Wellington and Nelson. The first governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, named Auckland after his hero, Lord Auckland, who was Governor-General of India at the time. Many other places were named after men who were important in British India, like Napier and Hastings. Christchurch was settled by Church of England people and Dunedin was settled by people from Scotland. The name is Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Maori had names for these places and often that name is still used for some parts of the area.
However, it is becoming more common to use the Maori name for some places. Mt Egmont is now called Taranaki, the name that was always used for the province. Mt Cook is often called Aoraki Mt Cook. New Zealand is often called Aotearoa New Zealand.

1 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

3 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》