新西兰英语 320 Military funeral

　　The funeral for Lieutenant¹ Tim O’Donnell was held today at Linton Military Camp. Linton is the nearest military camp to Tim’s hometown, Feilding. Tim was killed a week ago in Afghanistan. Listen to August 4th 2010 for more about what happened. He is the first New Zealand soldier in 10 years to die while fighting overseas. An Air Force plane brought his body back to New Zealand last Saturday.
The military service lasted two hours today. The Prime Minister, the Governor-General and the Chief of the Defence Force spoke² at the service. Members of his family and friends also spoke. About 1200 family, friends and soldiers were present. The New Zealand flag covered the coffin³ which was placed on a gun carriage. Two Iroquois helicopters flew over at the end and a 21 gun salute⁴ finished the service.
At the same time, a public service was held in St Paul’s cathedral, Wellington and another military service was held at Burnham military camp near Christchurch. Tim’s battalion⁵ was based at Burnham and he had many friends there. We heard today that he was a leader and a man who loved being a soldier; he had courage and he was well-liked.
The New Zealand flag flew at half mast today on all public buildings to show that the country is mourning the loss of a soldier.
Questions
Why do some people want to be soldiers?
What qualities do you need to be a soldier?

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

4 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

5 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。