新西兰英语 343 Local Body Elections

　　Who are those faces that we see in bill boards all around our town or city? These are people who want to represent you on the council, or community board, or hospital board. Every three years, we have a chance to vote for the people we want on these boards. If you believe in democracy, you should vote, even if you only choose to vote for one person that you know.
You should have your voting papers for the local body elections by now. You can vote for a mayor for your city or region and for councillors for your ward¹. Each city is divided into a number of wards². Each ward has 1, 2 or 3 councillors, depending on the size of the ward. In Auckland, you will be voting for a mayor and council for the new Super City. This council replaces the eight councils like Waitakere, and Manukau. Listen to Auckland Super-City Changes for more about this.
You will have voting papers for your local community board also. This board looks after community matters.
In some cities and regions, you also vote for the regional council. The regional council looks after the environment of the region including natural resources like rivers. Canterbury people cannot vote for a regional council this time because the government dismissed the councillors. Listen to April 28th 2010 for background to this.
You also vote for seven members of your local Health Board. There are 20 Health Boards in New Zealand. They each have seven elected representatives and four members appointed by the Minister of Health. This is a Single Transferable Vote – STV. You give a number for each person: 1 for your first choice, 2 for your second and so on. You can just vote for one person if you wish.
This is a postal³ vote. You must return your voting papers by midday of October 9th.
Listen to Register to Vote for more about voting. You can find more information at Local Body Elections
Questions
1. Is it compulsory⁴ to vote?
2. Why did less than 50% vote in local body elections three years ago?
3. Do you think there is more interest in the local body elections in Auckland this year than in other years?

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

3 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

4 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。