新西兰英语 779 Army leaves Christchurch city

 　　Immediately after the February 2011 earthquake, the army moved into Christchurch CBD to keep people out. Fences¹ went up around the four avenues³ which border the city and the only people allowed in and out were engineers, police or others working on damaged buildings. Not many people continued to live there as there was no water or electricity. Soldiers were at the entrances to the CBD in many places 24 hours a day for 859 days. Only official cars and people with the right ID could enter.

　　The area that was closed gradually⁴ became smaller over the last two years and four months. Fences moved in closer to the centre. First one road opened through the city, then another and then another. Now most roads are partly open but road works⁵ continue. Most of the road work is under the road, fixing pipes.

　　Today, fences came down around most of the city. This is because dangerous buildings have gone: they have been demolished⁶. Instead there is empty land. It is hard to remember what was there before the earthquake. It is a strange feeling walking around a mostly empty city.

　　Vocabulary

　　?CBD – central business district

　　?avenue² – a wide road with tress in the centre

　　?border – around

　　?ID – identification⁷, a piece of paper giving name and reason for entering the city

　　?gradually – slowly

1 fences   

n.栅栏( fence的名词复数 )；（障碍赛马中的）障碍物；买卖赃物者；击剑（术）v.围以栅栏( fence的第三人称单数 )；搪塞；支吾；回避

参考例句：

• It's a pity we didn't mend our fences with the colonel. 可惜我们还没有和上校先生调整好关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He fences well, as she had noticed before. 正如她以前观察到的一样，他善于周旋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 avenue   

n.林荫道；大街；途径，手段

参考例句：

• This is a shady avenue.这是条林阴大道。
• He drove slowly.The avenue was crowded with people.他慢慢地开车，因为大街上挤满了人。

3 avenues   

n.林阴道( avenue的名词复数 )；大街；途径；手段

参考例句：

• The avenues of the city were crowded with people. 城里大街上挤满了人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Avenues radiate from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 在巴黎，街道以凯旋门为中心向四方伸展。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gradually   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• The roaring sea gradually calmed down.咆哮的大海逐渐平静下来。
• Gradually he became silent.渐渐地他变得沉默寡言了。

5 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

6 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

7 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。