新西兰英语 321 Mt Hutt closed overnight

　　Last night Mt Hutt skifield was closed and about 1300 skiers had to spend the night on the floor of the lodge² on the mountain. There is no sleeping accommodation³ on the mountain.
Yesterday morning, the ski¹ field opened as usual to skiers but by around 11.30am, the North Westerly wind was blowing so strongly that the manager closed the ski field and the access⁴ road. This meant no one could leave. Some people said that the wind was so strong that it was difficult to stand up. Everyone hoped that the wind would die down some time in the afternoon but that didn’t happen. Instead, the manager decided⁵ that the safest thing to do was to close the access road and keep skiers safe in the day lodge on the mountain. The wind finally died down this morning and the road opened around 10am. Everyone left the mountain soon after that.
Mt Hutt is the largest ski area in New Zealand. It is 80km from Christchurch to the bottom⁶ of the access road. Then the access road up to the ski area is long and steep⁷, and can take cars 30 to 40 minutes. The summit⁸ of the mountain is 2190m. After last weekend’s snow fall of more than 1 metre, many skiers and snowboarders enjoyed the fresh snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday looked like a good day also but the weather changed.
Mt Hutt has been the scene of some bad experiences this season. Three skiers or snowboarders have been killed when they slipped⁹ and fell, and one man was killed went his car went off the access road. This is the first time in 5 years that anyone has been killed on the mountain. This is probably why the Mt Hutt manager decided it was safer to keep everyone overnight¹⁰ in the lodge. This is the first time that skiers have been unable to leave the mountain to go home at night.
While the day lodge was very crowded with people sleeping on the floor, the staff¹¹ managed to feed everyone. People could buy dinner for $2 last night and breakfast this morning was free. Skiers will probably also get some money back on their ski lift pass.
The Mt Hutt ski company will not make money from this but at least everyone was safe. Children on school trips thought it was fun.
Questions
Is it a good idea to take children on ski trips during the school term?
Is it the responsibility¹² of the ski field to provide food for everyone who could not get home?

1 ski   

n.滑雪橇，滑雪板；vi.滑雪

参考例句：

• The ski is wooden.这滑雪板是木制的。
• Do you have the skill to ski such a difficult slope?你有沿着这样一个陡坡滑雪的本事吗？

2 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

3 accommodation   

n.设备，膳宿，旅馆房间；容纳，提供，适应；调解，妥协；贷款

参考例句：

• Many old people choose to live in sheltered accommodation.许多老年人选择到养老院居住。
• Have you found accommodation?找到住处没有？

4 access   

n.接近；达到；进入；入口，通路；微软（Microsoft）数据库处理软件

参考例句：

• There is no access to the street through that door.那个门不通向大街。
• The only access to the town is across the bridge.到镇上唯一的通路是经过一座桥。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 bottom   

n.底部;屁股，臀部；adj.底部的

参考例句：

• The bottom of the cup is broken.这杯子的底破了。
• The channel must have a flat bottom.沟道的底要平。

7 steep   

adj.陡峭的，险峻的，急剧升降的，不合理的；n.悬崖，峭壁，浸渍，浸渍液；v.浸，泡，沉浸

参考例句：

• The slope is too steep for us to climb.这斜坡太陡，我们爬不上去。
• There was a steep climb on the road out of town.市外公路上有一处很陡的上坡路。

8 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

9 slipped   

adj.打滑，打滑的v.滑( slip的过去式和过去分词 )；滑脱；下降；（健康状况等）变差

参考例句：

• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。
• The climber slipped and dropped to his death. 攀登者一失足掉下去摔死了。

10 overnight   

ad.前一天晚上，一夜间 a.前一天晚上的

参考例句：

• She stayed overnight in the hotel. 她在旅馆过了一夜。
• Our success is not won overnight. 我们的成功不是一夜之间得来的。

11 staff   

n.全体人员，同事；棍棒，杆，拐杖，支柱，权杖；vt.为…配备人员

参考例句：

• We need more staff in the office.我们办公室需要更多的工作人员。
• The hotel staff were very friendly.这家旅馆的工作人员非常友好。

12 responsibility   

n.责任，职责

参考例句：

• The safety of the ship is the captain's responsibility.确保船的安全是船长的责任。
• The matter is outside my area of the responsibility.此事超出我的责任范围。