新西兰英语 582 Remembering the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

 　　It is one year since that terrible earthquake and tsunami¹ hit the North East coast of Japan, killing² 19,000 people. Today people in Japan remembered this in silence at 2.46pm. New Zealanders also remembered this day. In Auckland the Japanese consul³ held a dinner for invited guests and the head of USAR – the Urban Search and Rescue – talked about the work they did in Japan. When the February 22nd earthquake destroyed so many buildings and killed 185 people in Christchurch, Japanese USAR arrived to help. Many Japanese English language students were killed in the Christchurch earthquake. 17 days later, New Zealand USAR went to Japan to help.

　　Today Christchurch remembered the Japanese earthquake with a day of Japanese culture at Riccarton park and market. There was Japanese food, music including Japanese drums and songs, traditional dance, Ikebana flower arrangements, calligraphy⁴ and other Japanese culture. Donations were collected for the Japanese Red Cross earthquake fund.

　　Wellington held a ceremony at the Japanese Peace Garden.

　　Vocabulary

　　Japanese consul – a diplomat⁵. The ambassador is in Wellington but there is a consul is Auckland and Christchurch.

　　urban – city

　　calligraphy – beautiful hand-writing, done with a brush and ink

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

4 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。