新西兰英语 254 KiwiRail

　　The Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, said yesterday that some railway lines will probably be closed. The line between Napier and Gisborne, the northern Wairarapa line and the inland Taranaki line usually have just one train a week. It is possible that more logs¹ from forests could be carried on the Napier Gisborne line to keep the line open. If communities want railway lines to stay open, they have to find businesses which will use the lines. For example, Fonterra is now using more trains to carry milk to dairy² factories.
Most trains in New Zealand are used to carry freight³: coal, milk, dairy products, logs and steel. They also carry containers of goods to and from the ports.
One of the problems with the inland Taranaki line is that it was damaged last year and is still not repaired. For 15 years, New Zealand rail was owned by private companies. The Labour government bought back the rail and called it KiwiRail in 2008. A lot of money is now needed for repairs to the tracks⁴ and for new trains. Most trains are about 30 years old.
Problems with repairing tracks in Wellington have caused delays⁵ for passengers recently. In the last 6 months of 2008, there were 6 million trips on the Wellington commuter⁶ trains. In the last 6 months of 2009, this had dropped to 5.6 million and this year passenger numbers are down again. Many people are choosing to travel by car or bus instead.
However, KiwiRail says that the work they are doing on the Auckland⁷ and Wellington railways is the first major work since the railway began there. When it has finished, they hope passengers will return. Auckland will have 20 new electric trains. The Auckland railways will all be electric in the future.
Listen to March 2nd 2009 for more information about KiwiRail.
Questions to think about
What is the advantage of electric trains?
Should Auckland and Wellington ratepayers subsidise rail in their area?
How can communities encourage businesses to use rail?

1 logs   

n.练习用球瓶；原木，木材，木料( log的名词复数 )；航海[飞行]日志

参考例句：

• logs for the fire 烧火用的木材
• The logs were knocked together as they floated down the stream. 圆木顺流而下时互相碰撞着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 freight   

n.货物，货运；vt.运送（货物）看，装货于

参考例句：

• Tons of freight were flown into this airport every day.每天有许多吨货物被空运到这个机场。
• There is ten yuan in the bill for freight.发票中包括运费十元。

4 tracks   

n.小路( track的名词复数 )；跑道；路径；轨道v.跟踪( track的第三人称单数 )；跟踪摄影；留下（脏）足迹；追随（潮流等）

参考例句：

• Tracks led up the mountainside. 小径沿着山坡向上延伸。
• All the tracks have been digitally remastered from the original tapes. 所有的曲子都已经从原始录音带转录到了数码母带上。

5 delays   

（使）耽搁，延误( delay的第三人称单数 )； 推迟； 使延期； 使延迟

参考例句：

• Commuters will face long delays on the roads today. 路远乘车上下班的人今天要在路上耽误很多时间了。
• Things were working well when we were brought up against unexpected delays. 事情本来进行得很顺利，不料我们遇到了耽搁。

6 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

7 Auckland   

n.奥克兰(新西兰港市)

参考例句：

• Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand.奥克兰是新西兰最大的城市。
• Return to auckland by bus in afternoon.下午乘车返回奥克兰。