新西兰英语 530 National plans new welfare benefits

 　　362,400 people aged¹ between 18 and 64 are on welfare benefits. (June 2010 figures). The Prime Minister, John Key, said today that if National is re-elected, there would be changes to the benefits. Sole parents who have children aged 14 and over will have to register for full-time² work. Similarly, those people now on unemployment or sickness benefits will have to register for work. This could be part-time work if people are not able to work 40 hours a week.

　　Sole parents will have to register for part-time work when their youngest child is 5 years old. If a woman on a benefit has another child she will have to register for part-time work when that child is one year old.

　　Seriously ill people and those with serious disabilities will not be expected to work. They will receive a benefit.

　　The Leader of the Opposition³, Phil Goff, said that there are not enough jobs. Labour instead would pay employers to train apprentices⁴.

　　Vocabulary

　　welfare benefits – money paid by the government to people who do not have jobs.

　　National is the party of the government at the moment. The Labour Party is the Opposition.

　　sole parents are single parents, a mother or father who looks after children full-time

　　register – put their name down at the government department called Work and Income.

　　disability – a physical or intellectual ability which makes it difficult for someone to work

　　apprentices – people learning a trade like building, plumbing⁵, hairdressing

　　Questions

　　1.Does your country have a welfare system?

　　2.How can government create more jobs?

　　3.Do you agree with these new benefit plans?

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 apprentices   

学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。
• He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。

5 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》