新西兰英语 658 Maori water rights

 　　The Waitangi Tribunal met for two weeks to discuss Maori water rights. The Tribunal gave an interim¹ report because the full report would not be available until September. The interim report asked the government to postpone² the sale of Mighty³ River Power in the meantime.

　　The Maori Council believes that the Treaty of Waitangi gave Maori ownership rights to fresh water. The Labour MP, Shane Jones, said that Maori had always been quite happy to share their water rights with all New Zealanders while hydro-electric companies were public. However, if the government was planning to sell some of the hydro-electric shares to private owners, this was different.

　　The Prime Minister is keeping quiet at the moment about what the government will do except he said he will discuss this matter with the Maori Party in Parliament. The sale of state assets is a very important part of the government’s plan for the economy.

　　Vocabulary

　　interim – temporary until the main report is finished

　　postpone – delay

　　in the meantime – the time between two events

　　at the moment – now

　　assets – companies that the government owns

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。