英语名人堂：海伦·伊丽莎白·克拉克

海伦·伊丽莎白·克拉克，生于新西兰汉密尔顿。1999年12月5日起任新西兰总理。2008年11月19日卸任，继任者是约翰·基。

Helen Clark (born in 1950) is the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand. She was in office between 1999 and 2008 and won three consecutive¹ national elections. She is the second longest serving prime minister in NZ’s history. In 2008, she won the UN Environment Programme Champions of the Earth award for her plan to make NZ the world’s first carbon zero nation.

 

Clark grew up in a farming family and she developed a great love for the land. As a teenager, she became politically active. She protested against the Vietnam War and foreign military bases in New Zealand. She graduated from university with a Master’s degree in politics in 1974. Her research was based on politics in the countryside.

 

Clark won her first election in 1981. She rose up through the ranks and served in different posts as Minister of Housing, Conservation, Health, and finally as Deputy Prime Minister. She has significantly reformed her country’s welfare system. She introduced many popular measures, including raising the minimum wage six times and abolishing interest on student loans.

 

In 2008, Clark signed a landmark² agreement that handed back land to the indigenous³ Maori population. She was a fierce opponent of the invasion of Iraq and criticized American actions. She has forged strong relations with China, whose president calls her an “old friend”. She believes that “it’s inevitable⁴ that NZ will become a republic” and “reflect the reality that NZ is a…21st century nation”.

1 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。