新西兰英语 479 Death of Sir Paul Reeves

 　　Sir Paul Reeves died after a short illness yesterday, aged¹ 78. He was Governor-General of New Zealand from 1985 to 1990, the first Maori Governor-General. There will be a state funeral later this week to honour him.

　　He was an unusual choice for Governor-General as he was not a military man or a judge; he was the Archbishop of New Zealand for the Anglican Church. He was also a man who was not afraid to say what he thought about government policies. In 1981, he protested² against the Springbok Rugby Tour. While he was Governor-General he said publically that he thought the government policies were making a more unequal society, with the gap³ between the rich and poor getting wider. The Prime⁴ Minister at that time, David Lange, was not happy about the Governor-General criticizing⁵ the government.

　　Sir Paul Reeves was also unusual because he came from a working class family. His father was a tram driver in Wellington. His mother was Maori from the Taranaki area. As a young man, Paul studied at the Victoria University of Wellington.

　　After 1990, he represented the Anglican church at the United Nations for three years. He was chairman of the Nelson Mandela Trust in South Africa and worked to bring back democracy⁶ in Fiji. In New Zealand, he worked for Maori rights. In 2007, he was given the Order of New Zealand, which is the highest honour in this country.

　　Listen to March 8th 2011 to hear about the next Governor-General after Sir Anand Satyanand retires.

　　Note:

　　The Springbok Tour of New Zealand in 1981 caused a great deal of conflict within our country. The Springboks is the name of the South African Rugby team. Many New Zealanders did not want this team to play here because of their policy of apartheid – i.e. separation of black and white people.

　　Questions

　　The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in New Zealand. What qualities should a Governor-General have?

　　Should a Governor-General show his or her political beliefs? Does the Queen show her political beliefs?

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 gap   

n.缺口；间隔；差距；不足，缺陷

参考例句：

• We must see that there is no gap in our defence.我们必须确保我们的防御没有漏洞。
• There is a gap of five miles between towns.镇与镇之间相隔五英里。

4 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

5 criticizing   

v.评论，批评( criticize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He committed the cardinal sin of criticizing his teammates. 他犯了指责队友的大错。
• She's always criticizing her husband for being sloppy. 她总是指责她的丈夫做事马虎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 democracy   

n.民主政治，民主制度；民主精神，民主作风

参考例句：

• Democracy is based on good will and mutual understanding.民主建立在善意和相互理解的基础上。
• Did democracy have its beginnings in Athens? 民主制度是创始于雅典吗？