新西兰英语 705 Christmas in New Zealand

 　　Christmas Day in New Zealand is often hot. It’s the middle of summer, a few days after the longest day. Because our two main islands are quite narrow, most New Zealanders live close to a beach. A traditional European Christmas dinner – roast lamb followed by plum pudding – is not so appropriate in summer. Many families prefer a barbecue on the beach. Instead of plum pudding we have strawberries.

　　The Europeans who settled in New Zealand in the nineteenth century came from Great Britain. They brought their traditions with them and for more than 100 years, Christmas was celebrated¹ by most people here in a traditional European way. People sent Christmas cards with religious pictures of course but many cards had pictures of a snowman or sleighs in the snow. Gift wrapping paper had snowmen, trees with snow on them, or other Northern Hemisphere² scenes. These days, in New Zealand we have our own Christmas cards with scenes of a beach or the red flowers of the pohutukawa tree.

　　Vocabulary

　　?appropriate – suitable

　　?plum pudding – cooked in a bowl inside a pot. It’s made of a spicy⁴ cake mixture with raisins⁵ and other dried fruit.

　　?Hemisphere – half of a sphere³ i.e. the earth; a sphere is like a ball; New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere

　　?sleigh – a carriage or cart on skis, pulled by horses; Santa Claus rides in a sleigh with reindeer

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

3 sphere   

adj.球体的；n.范围，领域；球，球体

参考例句：

• The Earth is not a perfect sphere.地球并不是一个完全的球体。
• I feel I have been accepted as a leader in the international sphere.我觉得人们已经承认我是国际事务中的一个领导人了。

4 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

5 raisins   

n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆，味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句