新西兰英语 460 Snow storms

 　　Much of New Zealand experienced¹ some severe weather yesterday and today. Snow storms moved up from Southland, reaching Dunedin and Christchurch later yesterday. Snow continued to fall all night. Christchurch people woke up to a winter wonderland – about 15cm of snow on the ground. It looked so beautiful. It didn’t stop snowing until the afternoon. Children were outside making snowmen and having fun in the snow but it was very cold. The high for the day was 2 degrees.

　　About 2000 homes in Christchurch were without electricity for part of the day. Many people, whose homes were badly damaged by the earthquake, were feeling the cold.

　　Roads were dangerous in Christchurch and Dunedin, especially on hills, and police warned people to stay home if possible. Queenstown and Christchurch airports were closed for some time. This was the heaviest snow fall for Christchurch in 15 years.

　　Meanwhile snow continued to move up the South Island. Wellington had snow on the hills and strong cold southerly winds around the city. Their temperature was unusually low – 6 degrees with the wind chill² making it feel more like minus one.

　　Taranaki on the west coast of the North Island also experienced snow. This is very unusual for the west coast. It’s 70 years since they had so much snow.

　　Mountains and hills north of Wellington, and between Taupo and Napier were also covered with snow. Many roads were closed. While this happens every winter it is much colder than usual.

　　While it was inconvenient³ for travellers, skiers are happy. Most ski areas were closed at the beginning of July because of a lack of snow.

　　Grammar

　　a lack of snow – lack is a noun⁴; lack can also be a verb e.g. the ski area lacked snow. Often used in present continuous⁵ e.g. she is lacking energy / talent / time / friends etc.

　　Note two ways of making a comparison⁶: It’s the heaviest snow fall in 15 years. It’s 70 years since they had so much snow.

1 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

2 chill   

vt.使变冷，使冷却，使沮丧；n.寒冷，风寒

参考例句：

• With the chill factor,it's nearly minus forty here.加上风寒指数，气温接近零下40度。
• The bad news cast a chill over the whole family.这坏消息使全家人感到沮丧。

3 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

4 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

5 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

6 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。