新西兰英语 798 Botanic Gardens celebrate 150 years

 　　Both the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and the Dunedin Botanic Gardens are celebrating 150 years this year. They were both established in 1863. This is quite amazing as the first European settlements were not until 1848 for Dunedin and 1850 for Christchurch. The Dunedin Botanic Gardens are 28 hectares, much of it on a hill and planted with more than 3,000 rhododendrons. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens are flat and 21 ha in size although they are part of the 165 ha Hagley Park.

　　A Botanic Garden is a place for scientific research and education as well as a place for enjoyment¹ and relaxation². A Botanic Garden has labelled plants and scientists who are interested in growing New Zealand plants as well as many plants from overseas. Many trees from other countries grow well in New Zealand with its warm days and cold nights. Christchurch has many large trees which are close to 150 years old.

　　There are many celebrations this year to mark 150 years. This weekend, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens are open in the early evening, after dark, with a display of lights in the trees and performances by musicians, a flame juggler³ and acrobats⁴ in the trees. Thousands of families came tonight with their torches and paper lanterns to enjoy the fun.

　　Vocabulary

　　?gardens – usually plural⁵, usually no name e.g. Let’s go for a walk in the gardens.

　　?established – started, set up

　　?amazing – surprising

　　?settlements – groups of immigrants who came together to live in these towns

　　?rhododendrons – shrubs⁶ which come from the Himalayan mountains; they flower in winter and early spring

　　?relaxation – e.g. people sit on the grass and talk, read or sleep, or walk along the paths

　　?flame juggler – he throws 3 or 4 flames in the air and catches them, one after the other

　　?acrobats – they hang from a rope upside down and perform many skilful⁷ tricks

　　?torches – flashlights

1 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

2 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

3 juggler   

n. 变戏法者, 行骗者

参考例句：

• Dick was a juggler, who threw mists before your eyes. 迪克是个骗子，他在你面前故弄玄虚。
• The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。

4 acrobats   

n.杂技演员( acrobat的名词复数 )；立场观点善变的人，主张、政见等变化无常的人

参考例句：

• I was always fascinated by the acrobats at the circus. 我总是着迷于马戏团里的杂技演员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The acrobats' performance drew forth applause from the audience. 杂技演员的表演博得了观众的掌声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

6 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

7 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。