新西兰英语 654 Mount Tongariro erupts after more than a century

 　　On Monday 6 August 2012, the North Island volcano, Mt Tongariro, erupted during the night. It had been dormant¹ for over a century. During the previous month there had been a number of earthquakes below it, but the eruption² was still a surprise. Because it occurred during the night, it was difficult to see the effects of the eruption until daylight the following morning. What people saw then was volcanic³ ash everywhere. Practical information was given to help people nearby to keep safe and protect themselves and their belongings⁴. For example, they were told not to drink any water if it came from the roof of their house. People were also told not to use the windscreen wipers on their cars to try to move the volcanic ash since it is very harsh and would scratch the window. They were also encouraged to stay indoors so they wouldn’t breathe in the volcanic ash. Those with asthma⁵ or other respiratory difficulties could be badly affected⁶ by breathing it in.

　　The wind has now blown much of the ash away and hopefully the rain in subsequent days will help to wash it away too. The smell of sulphur from the eruption will probably linger for a lot longer.

　　Scientists cannot tell if this will be an isolated⁷ eruption or if there will be more. It is a waiting game for everyone, waiting to see if there will be another eruption. Meanwhile people are urged to take care and keep away from this area.

　　Mt Tongariro is in the Tongariro National Park. It became New Zealand’s first National Park when local Maori gifted its mountaintops to the people of New Zealand in 1887. Later, the Government added further land. Some of the peaks feature in the film ‘The Lord of the Rings’. National Parks are a wonderful gift to the nation and allow everyone to enjoy their natural beauty.

　　Vocabulary

　　?to erupt (verb): to burst or force out violently. eruption (noun)

　　?dormant (adjective): sleeping

　　?respiratory (adjective): breathing

　　?subsequent (adjective): following

　　?linger – (verb) stay for a while

　　?isolated (adjective): separate or apart from others

　　?waiting game – waiting time (idiom)

　　?urged – (verb) persuaded

　　?peaks – (noun) mountain tops

　　?feature – (verb) are an important part

　　Verbs

　　?Past perfect – the second and third sentences use the past perfect to show an event before another event in the past e.g. it was dormant after 1897 (first past event) then it erupted last Monday (second past event). This is not a common tense so don’t worry if you have trouble with it. Instead use the time words + simple past to make your meaning clear.

　　?Passive – information was given… they were told .. people were encouraged… are urged. We use passive when we don’t know who gave the information or it doesn’t matter who gave the information. We can guess in this case that it was an official.

　　Contributed by Wendy Kissel

1 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

2 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

3 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。