新西兰英语 666 IceFest in Christchurch

 　　IceFest is a festival about Antarctica. Antarctica is often called “The Ice”; for example “Dave Dobbyn visited the Ice two years ago”.

　　IceFest is a month-long festival, from September 14th to October 14th which includes the school holidays. It is in Hagley Park. In the centre is an outdoor ice skating rink which is very popular.

　　There are photographic exhibitions including one by Jane Ussher who photographed the Antarctic huts of Sir Ernest Shackleton and Captain Robert Falcon¹ Scott which have been there 100 years. To see this exhibition, you step inside a 10m white cube building to watch photos projected on three walls. You see how the men in these expeditions lived and what they left behind – clothes, tins of cocoa, boxes of flour, bottles, snow shovels² and other tools, and dog kennels³. You also see photos of the landscape. One image of a large bird moves frighteningly towards you.

　　The large GeoDome is the venue⁴ for talks by many scientists and others who have visited the Antarctic. There are films and concerts and many activities for children too.

　　In another tent, Denis Taylor is carving⁵ ice sculptures on Saturdays and Sundays. Next to that, is the broken statue of Captain Scott inside a large glass box. It was damaged by the earthquake.

　　On the last Saturday in September, visitors can visit the airport and see inside the aircraft which the US Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force fly to the Antarctic – the Globemaster, the Hercules and the Orion. This will be an exciting day.

　　Listen to January 17th 2012 to hear about Scott’s expedition.

　　Vocabulary

　　expedition – a journey taken by a group of people; both Shackleton and Scott wanted to get to the South Pole

　　GeoDome – a large tent in the shape of half a sphere

　　venue – location, place

　　aircraft – planes

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

3 kennels   

n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场

参考例句：

• We put the dog in kennels when we go away. 我们外出时把狗寄养在养狗场。
• He left his dog in a kennels when he went on holiday. 他外出度假时把狗交给养狗场照管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。