新西兰英语 621 Queenstown Winter Festival

 　　If you have never been to Queenstown, you are missing¹ one of the most beautiful towns in New Zealand. It is situated² on a lake – Lake Wakatipu – and is surrounded by mountains. Two good ski³ fields are very close to the town – the Remarkables on one side of Queenstown and Coronet Peak⁴ on the other. Right now they both have good snow but are hoping for more snow tomorrow.

　　Every year, Queenstown holds a 10 day winter festival. This year’s festival starts tonight with fireworks and live entertainment from local singers and musicians, all outdoors. The temperature tonight is not too cold – about 8 degrees. There is an outdoor ice skating rink in the town during the festival.

　　Tomorrow, there are many events like a mountain bike race on the snow, a one-mile running race in the streets for children and adults, a family fun day and an ice hockey competition in the evening.

　　Every day there are fun events on the mountains or in the town. The festival finishes on July 1st.

　　The school term in New Zealand finishes June 29th so many families will travel to Queenstown June 30th for their winter holiday, just in time to enjoy the end of the festival.

　　Vocabulary

　　?situated – located⁵

　　?surrounded –around on every side

　　?ski field – New Zealand expression for ski area

　　Structure

　　…have never been to Queenstown – Note: present perfect tense

　　There is / there are – a good way to introduce a topic (also there was/ were/ has been/ have been/ will be)

1 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

2 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

3 ski   

n.滑雪橇，滑雪板；vi.滑雪

参考例句：

• The ski is wooden.这滑雪板是木制的。
• Do you have the skill to ski such a difficult slope?你有沿着这样一个陡坡滑雪的本事吗？

4 peak   

n.山峰，巅，山顶，顶点，尖峰，帽舌；adj.最高的，最大值的；vi.到达最高点，消瘦，变憔悴，逐渐缩小；vt.使竖起，使达到最高点

参考例句：

• Traffic reaches a peak between 8 and 9 in the morning.早晨八九点钟是交通的高峰时刻。
• He was the first to top the mountain peak.他是第一个登上这座山峰的人。

5 located   

adj.处于，位于

参考例句：

• The mechanic located the fault immediately. 机修工立即找到了出故障的地方。
• a small town located 30 miles south of Chicago 位于芝加哥以南30英里的一个小镇