新西兰英语 778 Auckland City Plan

 　　Vocabulary

　　congestion¹ – too many people or cars which means they can’t move easily

　　urban sprawl² – city spread out too much

　　infrastructure³ – water, sewage, electricity, transport etc

　　metropolitan⁴ – city

　　submissions⁵ – write your opinions and send them to the council

　　Auckland has a new plan for how the city will grow. About 600 people move to Auckland each week and in the next 30 years that means 1million more people. Already Auckland has a problem with traffic congestion. During rush hours, cars on the motorways⁶ get stuck in traffic and cannot move. It takes people a long time to drive to work and home again after work. Should the city build more motorways? Who would pay? What about a congestion tax for anyone driving into the central city?

　　Many of Auckland’s problems come from urban sprawl. The city extends over a large area. This makes infrastructure expensive – underground water pipes, electricity, roads and public transport are expensive over a large area. More people need to live closer together.

　　The Auckland plan has more high-rise buildings, especially around metropolitan centres like Albany or Botany where buildings could be 18 storeys. Town centres like Pakuranga could have 8-storey buildings. The idea is to create work places in these centres so local people would not have to travel into the city for work or to do business. There would be mix of different kinds of housing: high apartment blocks, town houses and single houses, giving people a choice.

　　The city council is asking Aucklanders for their opinions on the city plan. People can attend meetings or send their submissions to the council by the end of the month.

 

1 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

2 sprawl   

vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延

参考例句：

• In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里，灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
• He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

5 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

6 motorways   

n.高速公路( motorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most of Britain's motorways radiated from London. 英国的大多数公路从伦敦向四方延伸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cuba is well served by motorways. 古巴的高速公路四通八达。 来自辞典例句