新西兰英语 622 Matariki

 　　Today is the beginning of Matariki, the Maori New Year. It is the time of year when the group of stars, The Pleiades, first appears in the sky. When the new moon appears after this, it is the time to celebrate Matariki. It has two meanings: Mata Riki means Little Stars and Mata Ariki means Eyes of God.

　　Matariki was a time for Maori to think about the past and the future. They remembered the people who died in the last year. It was also a time when the harvest was finished and people had time to celebrate with singing and dancing.

　　New Zealand Post is celebrating Matariki this year with a new issue of stamps showing Maori rock drawings. They are pictures of humans and animals. They were drawn¹ in caves 700 to 1,000 years ago. Most of them are in the South Island.

　　Today, 21st June, it is also the time of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

　　Listen to June 22nd 2011 and June 22nd 2008 to hear more about Matariki and the shortest day.

　　To see the Pleiades group of stars, go to the Ministry² of Culture and Heritage³ website.

　　Vocabulary

　　appears – comes, arrives

　　harvest – fruit and vegetables are collected

　　issue – New Zealand Post issues new stamps about every six weeks

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。