新西兰英语 653 Family History month

 　　August is Family History month. There are organisations which help people find out more about their family history, or genealogy¹. For example, the National Library in Wellington has a series of talks this month on genealogy. Some people make a family tree of several generations.

　　There are many records to help people find out more about their ancestors. To start with, cemeteries² have records and there is some information on the headstones of graves. However, most records are available through the internet or at a library. There are records of births, deaths and marriages; census³ details; electoral rolls; passenger lists of ships; obituaries⁴ in newspapers; and if your ancestors were famous or infamous⁵, you might find information about them in old newspapers.

　　Genealogy research is mostly of interest to Europeans whose families settled in New Zealand some time ago. Maori have an oral tradition of passing on genealogies⁶ for many generations, but there are more recent and detailed⁷ records on the internet.

　　People who research their genealogy often show an interest in the history which affected⁸ their ancestors. Why did they come to New Zealand for instance? What was happening in Europe at that time?

　　Vocabulary

　　?generations – e.g. the children of great, great grandparents and their children etc

　　?cemeteries – like a park where many people are buried

　　?grave – a place where one person is buried

　　?ancestors e.g. your great, great grandparents

　　?census – government counts all the people in the country

　　?obituaries – information about well-known people who have recently died

　　?infamous – famous in a bad way e.g. a well-known criminal

　　Questions

　　?Is your family interested in knowing more about your ancestors?

　　?Do you have records on the internet that can help?

　　?Do you know why people immigrated⁹ to New Zealand from Britain in the second half of the 19th century?

1 genealogy   

n.家系，宗谱

参考例句：

• He had sat and repeated his family's genealogy to her,twenty minutes of nonstop names.他坐下又给她细数了一遍他家族的家谱，20分钟内说出了一连串的名字。
• He was proficient in all questions of genealogy.他非常精通所有家谱的问题。

2 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 obituaries   

讣告，讣闻( obituary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Next time I read about him, I want it in the obituaries. 希望下次读到他的消息的时候，是在仆告里。
• People's obituaries are written while they're still alive? 人们在世的时候就有人给他们写讣告？

5 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

6 genealogies   

n.系谱，家系，宗谱( genealogy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tracing back our genealogies, I found he was a kinsman of mine. 转弯抹角算起来——他算是我的一个亲戚。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
• The insertion of these genealogies is the more peculiar and unreasonable. 这些系谱的掺入是更为离奇和无理的。 来自辞典例句

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句