新西兰英语 579 Boating tragedy

 　　A 12 metre fishing boat with nine people on board capsized in Foveaux Strait on Wednesday night around midnight. This was only an hour after it left Bluff¹ near Invercargill. Nobody realized that the boat had capsized and sunk until 2pm on Thursday when it didn’t arrive at Stewart Island.

　　One man was found by the coastguard boat at 6pm yesterday, Thursday, after he had been in the 13 degree water for 18 hours. He was on the deck at midnight when the wind changed to southerly. A sudden huge wave, possibly 6m high, turned the boat over. For the next two hours, he climbed onto the hull² of the boat which was upside down in the water. Then the boat sank but a petrol can floated near him and he held onto that. He was not wearing a life jacket. His tongue is swollen³, his eyes are red and sore and he was suffering from hypothermia but he is in hospital now and recovering.

　　Four bodies were found today. A navy camera found the boat on the bottom of the ocean but no bodies near it. Four more people are missing including a 7-year old child.

　　The passengers were from Invercargill. They were going to the Muttonbird Islands near Stewart Island. This is the time of year when they catch muttonbirds (the Maori word is Titi). They are sea birds. They are used for food and their feathers.

　　The sea in Foveaux Strait can be dangerous. Seventeen people have drowned in Foveaux Strait since 2006. Fourteen of those 17 people were going to the Muttonbird Islands or coming back after catching⁴ muttonbirds.

　　Vocabulary

　　Strait – water between two islands; Foveaux Strait is between the south of the South Island and Stewart Island.

　　capsized – turned over, turned upside down

　　sink, sank sunk – opposite is ‘float’

　　southerly wind comes from Antarctica

　　a coastguard rescues people from the sea

　　hull – bottom of the boat

　　hypothermia – very low body temperature

　　recover – get better

1 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

2 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

3 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

4 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。