新西兰英语 716 Waiheke Island

 　　Yesterday Waiheke Island was in the news because of fire.

　　Listen to Jan 24th 2013 to hear more about this.

　　Today an outdoor sculpture exhibition opens in Waiheke Island. It runs for three weeks. Sculptures are along a 2.5km path on the coast. This exhibition is one of the reasons that the New York Times last week listed Waiheke Island as one of the best places in the world to visit. It has lovely, safe beaches with white sand and calm water. It has more sunshine than Auckland and less rain. It also has many vineyards which make good wines. Some of the vineyards have their own restaurant.

　　Another reason for the New York Times’ choice is that Waiheke Island is close to Auckland. It is connected to Auckland by a ferry. The trip takes 40 minutes. Many of the 9,000 residents¹ who live on the island are interesting people: artists, actors, musicians and writers. Most of the residents earn less than the average Aucklander. There are not many jobs on the island: about 2,000 people commute² to Auckland every day to work. Another 3,000 people have holiday homes on the island.

　　The island is 92 square km in area, about 19km long by 10km at the widest point. It is very hilly with many houses on hills where there is a view of the sea. There are forests and farms as well as interesting historical places to visit.

　　Vocabulary

　　?sculpture – three-dimensional figures e.g. made of stone, bronze, wood, steel

　　?exhibition – a public display of art or sculpture

　　?runs – goes

　　?calm – not rough

　　?vineyards – grow grapes

　　?ferry – ship which travels between the island and Auckland

　　?residents – people who live in a place

　　?commute – travel to work from home (usually a long distance); a commuter is a person who does this

1 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

2 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。