新西兰英语 818 School wins court case

 　　Phillipstown primary school won a High Court case today to stay open. Earlier this year, the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, decided¹ to close a number of primary schools in Christchurch including Phillipstown school. The school was very unhappy with this decision and took the case to the High Court.

　　The school has 165 pupils. It is a decile 1 school which means² it is in a very poor area. Many parents do not have a car. If the school closes, the children will have to walk 1.6km on a busy road to Woolston school which has about 300 pupils.

　　The school is important to the community of Phillipstown and this was one of the reasons the judge agreed that it should not close. The other reason is that the Ministry³ of Education did not give detailed⁴ information about the financial reason for closing and this made it impossible for the school to argue their case. The Minister said she would consult⁵ with schools but in this case, the judge said she did not consult properly. The judge also said the school should not pay the court costs.

　　Hekia Parata said she needed to read what the judge said before she could make a comment and she will consult the school. Although the school won today, the future is still uncertain.

　　Listen to February 19th 2013 to hear more about closing Christchurch schools.

　　Vocabulary

　　decile 1 – parents’ income are in lowest 10% of the population

　　consult – listen to each other; exchange views

1 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。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 consult   

vi.商讨，商量，协商，会诊；vt.向…请教，查阅，考虑

参考例句：

• I wish to consult you on a few questions.我有几个问题向您领教。
• Parents can consult the teachers on children.家长可以向老师询问孩子们的情况。