新西兰英语 218 30 years since Erebus crash

　　To remember the Erebus crash 30 years ago, Air NZ is paying for six people to fly to Antarctica and visit Mt Erebus. The people chosen are family members of someone who was killed in that plane crash. These six people were chosen by ballot¹. To find out more about the crash, listen to Oct 23rd 2009.
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The family members flew in a US Air Force Globemaster this morning. These are not comfortable planes. There are a few seats in the middle for some people. Other people sit on the floor around the sides. There are no flight attendants² to serve meals or drinks. Passengers carry their lunch in a brown paper bag. The planes are very noisy but they are big enough to carry machinery³ and vehicles to Antarctica. The trip took five hours.
The family members will stay in Scott Base for three days. Helicopters took them to Mt Erebus tonight but it was too windy to land. They will try again tomorrow. A sculptor⁴ made a capsule which contains messages from New Zealanders. They will bury this capsule in the snow. There will also be a religious service on the mountain tomorrow. Also tomorrow, there will be services in Christchurch and Auckland to remember the terrible crash that killed 257 people.
The weather today was excellent for Antarctica – only -6 degrees C. Good weather is needed to fly these people home again too.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 attendants   

n.服务人员( attendant的名词复数 )；侍者；随从；伴随物

参考例句：

• Other flight attendants and passengers are believed to have fought. 我们相信其他服务人员及乘客也都进行了斗争。 来自时文部分
• Psyche gave ear to the admonitions of her vocal attendants. 普绪喀听从这些有声无形的外人的意见。 来自辞典例句

3 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

4 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。