新西兰英语 519 Pike River Mine Inquiry

 　　Phase 3 of the Inquiry¹ began 14th November and will stop for one week until December 5th. This part of the inquiry will look at the causes of the explosion, safety at the mine and the rescue attempts. 29 men died in the explosion at the Pike River Mine on November 19th 2010.

　　Two former inspectors³ who visited the mine gave evidence in the first week. They both said that the Department of Labour did not have enough inspectors to check mine safety. The inspector² could only check once every three months because he was the only inspector for all the mines in New Zealand. Both men became very upset when talking about conditions in the mine.

　　Last week, a Japanese expert gave evidence about safety worries. He began his employment in July 2010 but left on October 20th because he did not think the mine was safe. He thought the ventilation system was poor, there was no second exit and there were high methane⁴ levels in the mine.

　　For more about the Pike River Coal Mine, type “coal” in the search box.

　　Vocabulary

　　inquiry – this is like a court with a judge and commissioners

　　phase – stage, part

　　former – ex-inspectors, these men worked as inspectors before,

　　evidence – witnesses tell the court what they know

　　upset – they cried

　　ventilation system brings in fresh air

　　methane – CH4

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。