新西兰英语 242 Problems with XT mobile network

　　The XT mobile¹ network crashed on Wednesday last week. It took one day to fix the problem in the North Island but three days for the far south of the country. More than 200,000 people have Telecom XT in New Zealand. Between 70,000 and 80,000 people in Otago and Southland could not call or receive calls between Wednesday morning and Friday evening last week. Some people lost business. Some people were angry.
Telecom said it was a hardware² problem. Experts flew in from China and France to work with New Zealand technicians³. The network was built by a French company earlier last year.
Now Telecom said they will pay compensation⁴ to people who could not use their phones. Those who lost the network for three days will get most compensation. People with pre-pay will get $10, individuals on a plan will get two weeks free and businesses will get four weeks free. Telecom will also give $250,000 to community projects in the South Island. These projects could be parks or festivals or anything to help the community.
Questions to think about
1. Why are mobile phones so important for some people?
2. Why is Telecom giving a donation⁵ for community projects?
3. What would you do with $250,000 to help your community?

1 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

2 hardware   

n.重型武器；五金器具；硬件

参考例句：

• He bought a pot and other hardware at the store. 他从商店买了一个壶和其他金属制品。
• That family has carried on a hardware business for five generations.那家已经经营五金生意五代了。

3 technicians   

技术人员( technician的名词复数 )； 专家； 技巧好的人； （艺术、体育等的）技巧精湛者

参考例句：

• Two technicians were preparing a videotape recording of last week's programme. 两个技术人员正在准备上周节目的录像带。
• The exploitation of natural resources was hampered by the lack of technicians. 自然资源的开发因缺少技术人员而受阻。

4 compensation   

n.补偿（或赔偿）的款物，补偿，赔偿

参考例句：

• Workers who have been unfairly dismissed may claim compensation.被无理开除的工人可以要求补偿。
• Equal compensation should be given to men and women for equal work.男女同工应同酬。

5 donation   

n.捐赠，捐献，捐助；捐赠物

参考例句：

• She made a personal donation to the fund.她以个人名义向基金会捐款。
• Then next big donation of musical instruments came from Germany.第二笔音乐乐器的大型捐助来自德国。