新西兰英语 683 John Key visits Hollywood

 　　John Key returned yesterday from a quick trip to Hollywood. The purpose of his visit was to remind Hollywood movie companies that New Zealand is a good place for making movies. In return for making a movie which cost $15m or more, New Zealand would give back 15% to the movie studio. This is called a subsidy¹. The movie studios would like a bigger subsidy and some countries are offering more.

　　The Kiwi dollar is high at the moment – it buys around US83c – whereas² when the first Lord³ of the Rings movie was made 11 years ago, the Kiwi dollar was worth only US40c. The high Kiwi dollar means it is expensive for foreign film studios to make films in this country.

　　John Key thinks it might be a good idea to also offer a subsidy for a television series made in New Zealand, even if it costs less than $15m. He said that when a TV series is successful, the company making the programmes would want to make another series in the same country.

　　The idea of giving subsidies⁴ is not popular. We don’t subsidise other industries. However, John Key said it was important for jobs in the movie industry in New Zealand. Also if a movie like ‘The Hobbit’, is popular, that can bring tourists to New Zealand. That is what happened with ‘The Lord of the Rings’

　　Listen to October 27th 2010 to hear about jobs in the NZ movie industry.

　　Vocabulary

　　A subsidy (n) – money given by the government to a group to support that group’s industry; subsidise / subsidize (v) – some countries subsidise the dairy⁵ industry

　　Question

　　1.New Zealand used to subsidise the dairy farming industry. Milk was very cheap because the government gave some money to farmers to help them produce milk. Does your country subsidise farmers?

　　2.Most public transport in New Zealand is subsidised. Does this happen in your country?

　　3.Sometimes subsidies are tax rebates⁶. The government gives you a tax refund⁷ for things like child care costs. Do you think this is fair?

1 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

2 whereas   

conj.而，却，反之

参考例句：

• They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子，而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。

3 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

7 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。