新西兰英语 705 Christmas in New Zealand
英语课
Christmas Day in New Zealand is often hot. It’s the middle of summer, a few days after the longest day. Because our two main islands are quite narrow, most New Zealanders live close to a beach. A traditional European Christmas dinner – roast lamb followed by plum pudding – is not so appropriate in summer. Many families prefer a barbecue on the beach. Instead of plum pudding we have strawberries.
The Europeans who settled in New Zealand in the nineteenth century came from Great Britain. They brought their traditions with them and for more than 100 years, Christmas was celebrated 1 by most people here in a traditional European way. People sent Christmas cards with religious pictures of course but many cards had pictures of a snowman or sleighs in the snow. Gift wrapping paper had snowmen, trees with snow on them, or other Northern Hemisphere 2 scenes. These days, in New Zealand we have our own Christmas cards with scenes of a beach or the red flowers of the pohutukawa tree.
Vocabulary
?appropriate – suitable
?plum pudding – cooked in a bowl inside a pot. It’s made of a spicy 4 cake mixture with raisins 5 and other dried fruit.
?Hemisphere – half of a sphere 3 i.e. the earth; a sphere is like a ball; New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere
?sleigh – a carriage or cart on skis, pulled by horses; Santa Claus rides in a sleigh with reindeer
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
- He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
- The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
n.半球，半球地图
- This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
- In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。
adj.球体的；n.范围，领域；球，球体
- The Earth is not a perfect sphere.地球并不是一个完全的球体。
- I feel I have been accepted as a leader in the international sphere.我觉得人们已经承认我是国际事务中的一个领导人了。
adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的
- The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
- Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。