新西兰英语 159 Swine Flu again

The H1N1 flu which is also called Swine flu is now causing some worry in New Zealand as well as the rest of the world. The World Health Organisation is now calling this a pandemic which means that it is now global and spreads within each country as w

新西兰英语 122 Outdoor Pursuits Centre Fined by Court

Yesterday the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre (OPC) was fined by a court for unsafe practices which caused the death of seven people last year. See January 22nd 2009 Six students and a teacher from Elim Christian College were killed while

新西兰英语 337 Landslide on Road and Rail to Christchurc

A landslide near Kaikoura blocked the road and railway from Picton to Christchurch on Friday night. While small landslides on the narrow road near Kaikoura are quite common, this is the biggest one ever in this area. It is about 100m long and covers

新西兰英语 385 Christchurch water

A number of wells providing water for Christchurch city were damaged during the September 4th earthquake. Christchurch residents are fortunate. The water that comes out of taps in peoples homes is pure and natural because it comes from under the grou

新西兰英语 409 International help for Christchurch

After the major earthquake in Christchurch on Tuesday, many countries offered help. Britain, the US, Australia, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan have all sent Search and Rescue people to help find those who are buried under collapsed buildings. They broug

新西兰英语 348 Improving Auckland city

Len Brown, the new mayor of Auckland, has plans to improve public transport in the Auckland. He wants a railway from the airport into the city, a rail loop through the central city and a railway over a new harbour bridge. The central city loop would

新西兰英语 470 Training for immigrant doctors

New Zealand has many doctors from other countries who could not find work here. Sometimes this is because their English is not good enough or because in the past we had enough doctors. Now we have a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas. The

新西兰英语 189 Whanganui

Today, the Geographic Board decided that the town of Wanganui should be spelt with an h: Whanganui. This will make it the same as the river which flows through the town. The port is on the mouth of the river. The town is on the west coast of the Nort

新西兰英语 222 Electricity changes

The government plans to change some of our electricity companies. Two of the North Island electricity companies Genesis and Mighty River will have some South Island power stations and the South Island power company, Meridian, will get a North Island

新西兰英语 220 Yike Bike

Time magazine included the Yike Bike in their list of the 50 Best Inventions for 2009. The Yike Bike is an electric bike which folds. It weighs about 9kg and has a battery which charges in about 20 minutes. You sit up straight on a Yike Bike holding

新西兰英语 116 Government brings back Sir and Dame title

In 2000, the Labour government decided to stop using the titles Sir and Dame for the people who receive our top honours. Instead these people were called Principal Companion or Distinguished Companion, which does not sound nearly so good. Now the Nat

新西兰英语 236 Prince William’s Visit

Prince William arrived in New Zealand yesterday. He is representing the Queen. This morning he opened the new Supreme Court building which is in Wellington. This is the highest court in New Zealand. The Queen is now in her 80s and a long trip to New

新西兰英语 228 Stranded Whales

Today, 21 dead pilot whales were buried on a beach near the town of Coromandel. Another 42 whales managed to swim back out to sea. 63 whales were stranded on the beach about 6am this morning. Most of them were female whales with babies. By the time t

新西兰英语 391 Paralympics in Christchurch

The World Paralympics competition started in Christchurch today. This is a nine-day event and athletes hope they can qualify for the Paralympics held following the Olympic Games in London next year. About 1000 athletes are in Christchurch for this ev

新西兰英语 155 The Venice Art Biennale

New Zealand has chosen two artists to represent our country in Venice for the Biennale Art Exhibition, Judy Millar and Francis Upritchard. They will be among artists from 90 other countries. This is the most famous biennale (which means every two yea

新西兰英语 304 Rainbow Warrior Ship Bombed 25 years ago

In the 1980s, France was carrying out nuclear weapons tests on small islands in the South Pacific. Greenpeace was preparing to visit Mururoa in French Polynesia to protest about Frances nuclear tests. The Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, was tie

新西兰英语 216 Tongan ship disaster

A Royal Commission of Inquiry in Tonga is trying to find out why the ship, the Princess Ashika sank on August 5th this year. 74 people died; 54 were rescued. The commission, which is like a court with a judge, started in October. The commission sat f

新西兰英语 107 Fire on Mt Ruapehu

Two buildings burnt to the ground early yesterday morning at Whakapapa Ski field which is on Mt Ruapehu. People who were staying in huts on the mountain woke around 1am Saturday morning to see a red sky. Some thought that Mt Ruapehu was erupting agai

新西兰英语 295 World Cup Success for All Whites

The New Zealand football team, the All Whites, has had a good result in their first World Cup game against Slovakia. The All Whites were not expected to do very well as they are only 78th in the world while Slovakia is 34th, but they scored a goal 30

新西兰英语 143 Policemen shot in Napier

Most New Zealanders will know about this tragedy which happened in Napier, a city on the East Coast of the North Island. It started on Thursday morning when three police officers arrived at a house to search for cannabis plants. Cannabis is a drug wh