新西兰英语 750 Ellerslie Flower Show

 　　The Ellerslie Flower Show opened in Hagley Park in Christchurch on Wednesday and runs for 5 days. The first Ellerslie Flower Show was at the Ellerslie RaceCourse in Auckland in 1994. It moved to Christchurch in 2009. It is a very popular show with 50,000 visitors expected this year. Many of the exhibits and the people who design the exhibits come from all over New Zealand.

　　One unusual exhibit was designed and made by 14 children from Raumati South Primary School. (Raumati is 45 minutes – by car – north of Wellington on the west coast.) This is the first time there has been a children’s display. It is called ‘Our Sustainable Schoolyard’. It is 6 x 6 metres and has many interesting features, including plants you can eat such as tomatoes and herbs, a monarch¹ butterfly garden and a pizza oven. It has an area for lizards² and another for weta. Along the back wall is a row of sunflowers. In the front is a water wheel and students take turns to pedal a bicycle which turns the wheel so that water comes out. The timber used for the walls and deck is recycled. When the flower show finishes, Raumati South Primary School will donate the garden to Wharenui Primary School in Christchurch. Earlier this week, the pupils from Raumati South visited Wharenui, made friends with pupils at Wharenui and saw the area where the garden will go.

　　The students won a Silver Award from the judges, but today they won the People’s Choice. Visitors at the flower show voted for the garden they liked the best.

　　There was a section for University Student Designers. They had to design an outdoor garden for young people aged³ in their 20s. The Supreme⁴ Award, which is the top award, was won by two young graduates who designed garden rooms – outdoor kitchen, pantry and lounge – using many recycled materials.

　　Vocabulary

　　?exhibit – a display of a garden or flowers for other people to see (exhibition n)

　　?sustainable – does not damage the environment

　　?features – interesting parts

　　?weta – a New Zealand flying insect like a grasshopper⁵

　　?deck – a place made of wood where you can stand

　　?recycled – used before e.g. was a wooden box before

　　?donate (v) – give (donation n.)

　　?award – prize

　　?pantry – a place for food

1 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

2 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。