新西兰英语 693 Labour Party Conference

 　　The Labour Party held their annual conference over the weekend. More than 500 members attended. A member is someone who pays a membership fee to belong to the Labour Party. This includes the 34 Labour Members of Parliament.

　　The Leader of the Opposition¹, David Shearer², made a long speech about what he will do if he becomes Prime Minister in the 2014 elections. One promise was to find the money to build 100,000 houses in 10 years. These houses would be for first-home buyers and would not be too expensive. This plan would help the economy, give employment to 2,000 people and help more people to buy their own homes.

　　He also said that a Labour government would force landlords to improve the houses that they rent out. All rental³ homes would have good insulation⁴ and heating so that families did not live in cold, mouldy houses.

　　Some Labour Party members were worried that David Shearer was not a strong leader. However, most members at the conference were very pleased with this speech.

　　Vocabulary

　　?annual – every year

　　?fee – money you have to pay

　　?insulation – material under the floor, in the walls and ceilings to keep the heat inside the house; often made of fibreglass or wool

　　?mould – a fungus which grows on the walls and ceiling in damp houses; often black

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

3 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

4 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。