新西兰英语 535 Nelson floods

 　　The floods in Nelson from the rain on Wednesday and Thursday are still causing problems. Some roads are still closed including the road to Cable¹ Bay, just 15 minutes east of Nelson. Supplies of food and fresh water were dropped by helicopter; boats also took supplies to the people in Cable Bay.

　　The heavy rain caused more than 300 slips where mud came down and closed the roads. There are also slips near the pipe which supplies Nelson with fresh water. If a slip falls on the pipe, this could break it and Nelson would have no fresh water. About 50 houses on the hills are in danger from slips; owners had to leave their homes.

　　Farmers had to move their cows to higher land while they wait for the flood water to disappear. This is a big problem for farmers who have flat land. Dairy² cows are producing a lot of milk at this time of year and need grass for feed.

　　Beaches are closed for swimming and for collecting shellfish.

　　Grammar

　　Passive³: “some roads are still closed; supplies … were dropped; beaches are closed” Passive is used when we don’t know who did the action – the action is important not the person who did it.

　　Note the past tense of “have to” is “had to” (owners had to leave their homes). There is no past tense for “must”. This is another reason for learning⁴ to use “have to” instead of “must”. See December 16th grammar notes.

　　Note the conditional⁵: “If a slip falls …, it could … and Nelson would have …” This is a hypothetical idea i.e. it might or might not happen.

　　“feed” is a noun⁶ as well as a verb.

1 cable   

n.缆绳，索；电缆；电报；vt.电汇，打电报

参考例句：

• Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
• The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。

2 dairy   

n.牛奶场，乳品店；adj.乳制品的

参考例句：

• The yogurt sold by this dairy is delicious.这家乳品店出售的酸奶非常好喝。
• He kept a few dairy cows.他养了几头奶牛。

3 passive   

adj.被动的；消极的

参考例句：

• He has a passive expression on his face.他脸上有一种漠然的表情。
• It lands the manager in a passive position.它使经理处于被动地位。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

6 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。