新西兰英语 434 Picton may lose ferry

 　　The inter-island ferry¹ between the North and the South Islands at the moment travels between Wellington and Picton. The ferry carries people, cars, trucks and trains (without the engine). It takes about three hours.

　　The government is looking at changing the South Island port to Clifford Bay² which is south of Blenheim and nearer to Christchurch. There are many advantages. First the travel time to Christchurch would be shorter by road and by rail. Now, it takes about four and a half hours by car from Picton to Christchurch and by train just over five hours. The trip could be reduced by 80 or 90 minutes by road and two hours by rail with a move to Clifford Bay.

　　There is a steep³ hill just outside Picton. At the moment, a train cannot manage a heavy load on that steep hill. Sometimes this means⁴ two trips up the hill with half a load each time.

　　Another important reason for the move is that ferries⁵ have to slow down in the Marlborough Sounds because of the damage they cause to the environment around the shore. With the move to Clifford Bay, most of the trip would be in the open sea and the trip would be about 30 minutes shorter.

　　With air fares now much cheaper, more people are choosing to travel by air but a move to Clifford Bay could attract passengers back to the ferries.

　　However, this move will mean a loss⁶ of business for Picton and Blenheim. It will also mean that tourists will not be able to enjoy the ferry trip through the Marlborough Sounds. This is a beautiful trip when the weather is good.

　　The government would use private and public money to build this new port. This is called a public-private partnership⁷ or PPP.

　　Vocabulary

　　Sounds – narrow fingers of land in the sea, like fiords.

　　Questions

　　Would this be a good thing for Picton? Many people who enjoy boating⁸ would be happy to see the busy port disappear. What about business in the town?

1 ferry   

n.渡船，渡口；v.渡运；(越海)空运

参考例句：

• You can cross the river by ferry.你可以搭渡船过河。
• We waited at the ferry for two hours.我们在渡口等了两个小时。

2 bay   

n.海湾，狗吠声，月桂；vt.吠，使走投无路；vi.吠

参考例句：

• I enjoy the view of the bay in the starlight.我喜欢星光下的海湾风景。
• Dogs sometimes bay at the moon.狗有时会朝着月亮吠叫。

3 steep   

adj.陡峭的，险峻的，急剧升降的，不合理的；n.悬崖，峭壁，浸渍，浸渍液；v.浸，泡，沉浸

参考例句：

• The slope is too steep for us to climb.这斜坡太陡，我们爬不上去。
• There was a steep climb on the road out of town.市外公路上有一处很陡的上坡路。

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 ferries   

n.渡船( ferry的名词复数 )；渡口；摆渡；飞机渡运v.运送( ferry的第三人称单数 )；（乘渡船）渡过（河等）；渡运飞机；摆渡，用（渡）船渡，（船）来往行驶

参考例句：

• Ferries ply across a narrow strait to the island. 渡船定时穿越狭窄的海峡驶向海岛。
• They had only a few Siebel ferries. 他们只有为数不多的“斯比尔”渡轮。 来自辞典例句

6 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 boating   

n.划船

参考例句：

• They were fond of boating.他们喜欢划船。
• The lovely river itself was ideal for fishing and boating.这条美丽的河流本身就宜于钓鱼和划船。