新西兰英语 144 Auckland Motorway Extension

　　The Auckland south-western motorway¹ now goes 13km from the airport to Mt Roskill but on Friday, another 4km to Sandringham Rd will open. This motorway is called State Highway 20 (SH20). The plan is for this motorway to continue further so that it links up with the north-western motorway, making a ring road around the city. This will mean that people living on the North Shore can travel to the airport without going through the city.
However, to finish SH20, 365 houses will be taken away or pushed over by a bulldozer. The owners will get money from the government for their house but many people do not want to leave their homes. The Labour government under Helen Clark planned to build a 5km tunnel instead. The National government today decided² that the new SH20 extension³ will be mostly above ground but there will be smaller tunnels. This would save $1 billion, they said.
This extension to SH20 is mostly in the Mt Albert electorate⁴. People in this electorate will vote for a new MP on June 13th. People who are angry about losing their house will probably vote for the Labour candidate⁵.
The Green candidate says that a motorway extension is old thinking. Auckland needs better public transport not more roads.

1 motorway   

n.高速公路，快车道

参考例句：

• Our car had a breakdown on the motorway.我们的汽车在高速公路上抛锚了。
• A maniac driver sped 35 miles along the wrong side of a motorway at 110 mph.一个疯狂的司机以每小时110英里的速度在高速公路上逆行飙车35英里。

2 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。

3 extension   

n.伸长，扩大，伸展；延长，延期；延长部分，扩大部分；电话分机

参考例句：

• The pupils disliked the extension of the term.小学生们不愿延长学期。
• Our extension is nearly finished.我们的扩建部分已接近完工。

4 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

5 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。