新西兰英语 439 Wellywood

 　　Wellington airport plans to put up a big sign on a hillside overlooking¹ the airport which says “Wellywood”. When tourists fly into Wellington, they will see the sign and they will learn that Wellington is famous for making movies. The sign would be a copy of the one in Los Angeles which says “Hollywood”. Wellington is the home of Sir Peter Jackson and his film studio as well as Weta Workshops. Sir Peter Jackson was the director of the “Lord of the Rings” movies and “King Kong”. Now he is making “The Hobbit” movie. The technology from Weta Workshops helped with all these movies as well as “Avatar”.

　　Listen to BAFTA Awards to find out more about Sir Peter Jackson and Weta Workshops.

　　Many people in Wellington do not like the idea of a “Wellywood” sign. They say it is a copy. Wellington doesn’t need to copy. It can have its own ideas. They think that Wellington is more than just making movies. Other people think it will show tourists an important industry in the capital city.

　　The mayor² of Wellington and some of the city councillors do not like the idea. However, the city has only a one third financial share in the airport so the council³ cannot stop it.

　　Listen to Wellington – one of the top cities in the world to find out more about Wellington.

　　Questions

　　1. What do you think of the idea?

　　2. Is there another way to show tourists that Wellington is the home of some famous movies?

　　3. If you live in Wellington or have visited Wellington what do you think are some of the good things about the city that tourists would enjoy?

1 overlooking   

v.忽视( overlook的现在分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• The house is in an elevated position, overlooking the town. 这栋房子地势较高，可以俯瞰全城。
• The house sits high on a hill overlooking a lake. 房子高高地坐落在可以俯瞰湖水的小山上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

3 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。