新西兰英语 161 Winter Solstice 2009

　　Today is the shortest day and the longest night. In the Northern Hemisphere¹ it is the Summer Solstice, when they have the longest day and the shortest night.
In New Zealand, the sun rises around 8am on the shortest day and the sun sets at about 5pm. The exact time depends on where you live. In the far north, the sun rises a little bit earlier and sets a little bit later than in the far south.
Although this is the shortest day, it is not the middle of winter. July usually brings the coldest weather: more cold wind, more rain and hail², and more snow in some places. Skiers are excited because already the mountains have had more snow than usual. Early winter has been very cold this year.
Maori celebrate Matariki, the Aotearoa Pacific New Year, at this time of year. Matariki is a group of stars which you can see in the morning just before the sun rises from late May until late June. Many places in New Zealand will have Matariki celebrations³ this month.
See June 22nd 2008 for last year’s item⁴.

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 hail   

n.雹，一阵；vi.下雹；vt.高呼，为...喝彩

参考例句：

• Hail fell with such violence that it broke windows.冰雹猛落，把玻璃窗也砸破了。
• The people lined the streets to hail the returning heroes.人们夹道欢迎凯旋的英雄们。

3 celebrations   

n.庆祝( celebration的名词复数 )；庆祝会（仪式）

参考例句：

• The mayor was there to dignify the celebrations. 市长的光临为庆祝活动增辉。
• Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations 维多利亚女王登基50周年庆典

4 item   

n.项目；条款；（消息，情报等的）一条

参考例句：

• We should go on to the next item for time is short.时间不多了，我们应该谈下一项内容。
• Put this item on our daily work schedule.把这项工作提到议事日程上来。