新西兰英语 46 National Party Conference

　　The National Party held their annual conference this weekend in Wellington. This was an important conference because it was their last one before the elections² in November. The National Party had not said very much about their policies before this weekend. However, at the conference, we were told more about what they will do if they win the election¹.
They will give tax cuts but they also promise to increase spending on infrastructure³ to make the economy grow. Infrastructure usually means things like electricity, water and sewage systems as well as transport. John Key also included fast internet connections. If there are tax cuts, where will the money for these things come from? John Key said that the National Party will try to get private businesses to invest⁴ money, along with the government, in things like new roads. This would mean that we would pay tolls⁵ to use the roads. He also said that they would borrow more money.
Another change would be to make the Resource Management Act simpler so that permission for new roads and other major projects can happen faster.
John Key also said he wanted to improve standards in education, especially in literacy⁶ and numeracy. He plans to introduce training for high school students in trades such as plumbing⁷ and building and to allow 16 and 17 year olds to get high school qualifications from a polytech or a wananga.
He also promised a referendum on MMP which means we will have a vote about it. MMP was introduced in 1996 because small political parties did not have a chance of winning seats in Parliament⁸ although sometimes they received a lot of votes. With MMP, any party which receives 5% of the vote will have a seat in Parliament. We now have several small parties such as New Zealand First, United Future, the Greens, ACT and the Maori Party. Parliament has now become more representative of all New Zealand people. After the last election, there were 39 women, 21 Maori, 4 Pacific and 2 Asian MPs in Parliament.

1 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

2 elections   

n.选举，当选，推举( election的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• He emerged victorious in the elections. 他在竞选中脱颖而出获得胜利。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

5 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

6 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

7 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 Parliament   

n.议会，国会

参考例句：

• She won a seat in Parliament at the election.她在选举中赢得了议会中的席位。
• The drug was banned by an act of parliament.议会的法案明令禁止该药品。