新西兰英语 18 New Zealand Signed a Free-trade Agreement

　　Today New Zealand signed a free-trade agreement with China. This is the first free-trade agreement that China has ever signed with a western, capitalist, democratic¹ country but in the future China hopes to sign more trade deals with other western countries so this agreement is a trial.
The Prime² Minister, Helen Clark, signed the agreement with Chinese Premier³ Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Helen Clark was accompanied by more than 200 New Zealanders – politicians from both the Labour and National Parties, members of the media, but mostly business people.
The details of the agreement were secret until today but we now know that the main change will be that import taxes will gradually disappear. Today New Zealand farmers pay between 12% and 25% to export dairy⁴ products and meat to China each year but these taxes will be lower and finally they will disappear. Chinese manufactured⁵ goods do not have as much tax on them at the moment but this will also completely disappear in a few years.
Another part of the agreement is to allow Chinese workers to come to New Zealand for 3 years. They will be workers in Chinese industries like chefs for Chinese restaurants, tourist guides, people who practise Chinese medicine and martial⁶ arts coaches. Workers to help pick apples and grapes will also be allowed to come here for short periods and also Chinese skilled⁷ workers for jobs where there are vacancies⁸.
New Zealand has worked hard to get this agreement. The government says that our exports of meat and dairy products will increase by 8 times. China is already our 4th largest export country. Because of the economic problems in the US, New Zealand has been looking for other markets and China, with its fast-growing middle class, is very attractive to farmers and business people here. New Zealand is also looking to Malaysia and India for future markets, so this agreement with China is a good beginning.
New Zealand is a very small market for China but the Chinese government has welcomed this free-trade deal. China is also looking to other markets in the future, to Australia and Europe. If the arrangement with New Zealand works⁹ well, other western countries might be interested in signing agreements with China.
The Green Party is against this free-trade agreement partly because of the way China has treated people in Tibet in the last few weeks. Some workers in clothing and footwear factories are worried that more cheap Chinese imports will mean that nobody will buy New Zealand goods and they will lose their jobs. Other people are worried about Chinese workers taking the jobs of New Zealanders.

1 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 dairy   

n.牛奶场，乳品店；adj.乳制品的

参考例句：

• The yogurt sold by this dairy is delicious.这家乳品店出售的酸奶非常好喝。
• He kept a few dairy cows.他养了几头奶牛。

5 manufactured   

adj.人造的v.（大规模）制造( manufacture的过去式和过去分词 )；捏造；加工；粗制滥造（文学作品）

参考例句：

• a news story manufactured by an unscrupulous journalist 一位不道德的记者编造的一篇报道
• We want the machine manufactured to our own spec. 我们要求这台机器按我们自己的规格来制造。

6 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

7 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

8 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。