新西兰英语 86 Taxi Driver Killed

　　Late on Saturday night, a taxi driver was stabbed to death in Christchurch. The driver was originally from Afghanistan and arrived in New Zealand as a refugee¹.
In August 2001, he was on a boat from Malaysia, along with other Afghani people, hoping to land in Australia. This was a 20m fishing boat with 438 people on board. The boat was over-crowded and in danger of sinking. Many of the people on board were sick. They had a large SOS and a Help sign on the deck of the boat which could be seen from the air. Fortunately for the people on the boat, a large cargo² ship from Norway, named the Tampa, was nearby and rescued everybody. Australia then refused to allow these boat people to come to their country. The Australian government felt that if they allowed them into their country, this would encourage more boat people to try come to Australia. Eventually, New Zealand helped to find a solution. Our government offered to take 150 people and the rest went to Nauru Island in the Pacific where Australia provided money for their care. Some time later, all these Afghani people were accepted into New Zealand or Australia as refugees³. They are often called the Tampa refugees.
While any murder is a tragedy, it is even more tragic⁴ that this man fled from his country to safety in New Zealand. He was only 39 years old with a wife and five children. Two teenaged males, a 16 year old and a 19 year old, have been arrested and charged with his murder.

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

4 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。