新西兰英语 630 Snowy Canterbury

 　　Yesterday, it snowed all day in most of Canterbury. It was wet, heavy snow which broke branches off trees. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens closed because of the danger of falling branches. The University of Canterbury, Lincoln University and CPIT also closed. Many schools closed yesterday and did not open today or opened later than usual.

　　This morning, it was also dangerous on the roads because of ice. In Christchurch the frost was -6 degrees but some inland places had -11 degrees. Although the sun came out today, the temperature was only 5 degrees so not much snow melted. Frozen¹ snow is icy and difficult for walking or driving.

　　About 1700 homes in Canterbury lost electricity because heavy snow on power lines brought the lines down. Still today, some houses have no electricity. This is especially a problem in rural² areas where roads are still covered with snow and it is hard for workers to drive to these places. Some rural areas in inland Canterbury had about 30cm of snow.

　　Main roads through Arthurs Pass and Lewis Pass, from Christchurch to the West Coast, are closed.

　　Snow is not common in Canterbury so councils³ do not have snow ploughs to clear roads.

　　Structures

　　?brought the lines down – made them fall down

　　?it is hard for workers to … (it is difficult / easy for X to …)

　　?inland places – areas not near the coast

　　?ice (n), icy (adj); snow (n and v), snowy (adj) (wind (n), windy (adj); rain (n and v), rainy (adj); freeze (v); frozen (adj))

1 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

2 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

3 councils   

n.委员会( council的名词复数 )；（郡、镇等）政务会；（尤指旧时讨论特定步骤的）协商会议；市政（或地方管理）服务机构

参考例句：

• It is one of the most notoriously corrupt city councils. 那是贪污腐败最为臭名昭著的市参议会之一。 来自辞典例句
• Local councils should use their powers to ensure strict observance of laws. 地方政务委员会应当行使权力以保证人们严格遵守法律。 来自辞典例句