新西兰英语 280 Public Transport for the Rugby World Cup

　　In 2011 the Rugby World Cup will be held in New Zealand for the second time. Many of the games will be held in Auckland and some games will have up to 60,000 people attending. With a lot of extra people moving around the city there could be some serious transport problems.
Auckland is well known for its traffic problems. Although there are buses and trains available, many Aucklanders prefer to drive their own cars rather than take public transport to and from work, so in rush hours there are often traffic jams on motorways¹ and other main roads.
A new transport plan for Auckland will be in place for the World Cup. Organisers believe that at least 60% of Aucklanders will use public transport at that time and leave their cars at home. There will be 84 extra buses provided² to take up to 7000 rugby fans from one place to another, as well as more frequent train services.
Roads and other transport facilities, such as railway and bus stations, will also be upgraded³ in time for the World Cup. The total cost of these improvements⁴ will probably be about $55 million. After the World Cup many Aucklanders may choose to continue to use their improved public transport system instead of using private cars all the time, which would help reduce traffic on their roads.
Written by Chris Mahoney
Questions to think about:
1. What are some of the benefits to New Zealand of holding the Rugby World Cup here?
2. Are there any disadvantages?
3. What solutions can you think of for the increasing traffic problems in big cities around the world?
Listen for these numbers: year of the Rugby World Cup, people attending, % of Aucklanders who will use public transport, number of extra buses, fans who will use these extra buses, cost of improvements to transport facilities

1 motorways   

n.高速公路( motorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most of Britain's motorways radiated from London. 英国的大多数公路从伦敦向四方延伸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cuba is well served by motorways. 古巴的高速公路四通八达。 来自辞典例句

2 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

3 upgraded   

升级的，提升的

参考例句：

• They upgraded the land by improving it with new buildings. 他们建造新楼房来提高土地的等级。
• Our legation was upgraded to an embassy. 我们的公使馆升级为大使馆。

4 improvements   

增加或修改( improvement的名词复数 )； 改进； 改善； 改良

参考例句：

• improvements in efficiency at the factory 工厂效率的提高
• They've spent a lot of money on home improvements. 他们花了很多钱装修家居。