Supplementary Reading

This is the on-line travelogue of Treve Kneebone and Katrina Lomax. The couple, from the small English town of Windsor, were embarking on an epic voyage of discovery to the four corners of the world from June 2005 to January 2006.

Travel with Sandy [1]

                      Treve Kneebone and Katrina Lomax

1       Merry Christmas folks from Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand!

2       We've just spent a fantastic three weeks touring New Zealand in our trusty campervan, Sandy. We've seen such diverse landscapes on these beautiful islands and can only attempt to give you a brief snapshot of our adventures here...

3       Our Kiwi2 adventure began on a chilly evening on the last day of November, where bargaining for a taxi to take us to central Auckland reminded us very much of Bangkok. As we pulled up to the Auckland City Hotel we realised that once again we were staying in the red light district.

4       Feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep we set out to explore the dizzy heights of central Auckland. This sophisticated waterfront city was in a similar vein to Sydney, but of course much smaller. We explored the coffee shops and boutiques of the side streets and visited the excellent art gallery.

5       The following day, the rental campervan was delivered and it was time to hit the road. Basically a transit van with mattress, coolbox and gas stove in the back, Sandy—as the owners had fondly named her — would be our house on wheels for the next three and a half weeks. After a few cautious laps around the car park we hit Highway 1 south to the town of Rotorua.

6       It's true what people had warned us— the whole place stank of the sulphur spewed out by the many geysers that litter Rotorua and the surrounding landscape. It was amazing to see and walk amongst the bubbling mud pools and hot springs— geography teachers would have a field day here! 1

7       So with our noses full of the delicious aroma of rotten eggs, we headed south towards the "kingdom of Mordor2" near Tarangi, just south of Lake Taupo. There we were overwhelmed by a large group of school kids who would be tackling the famous Tongariro Crossing the following day. This is a challenging full day's trek across the volcanic landscape that towered above us. We plodded up the lower flanks in the van the following day, only to be engulfed by the thick fog shrouding the peaks.

8       The scenery as we raced southwards towards Wellington looked like a set for Hobbiton3, with rounded grassy knolls. These were terraced from top to bottom, created by the constant tramping of grazing sheep.

9       "Windy Welly" certainly lived up to its nickname, as we blew into the southernmost town of the North Island. Wellington, being the capital city of New Zealand, is a large and bustling place built around an active port.

10   Whilst waiting for the 3 a.m. ferry across to the South Island, we snatched some sleep in the port-side car park —our first experience of rough camping in the van and probably not our last. The rough crossing to Picton passed like a dream as we crashed out on the cafeteria seats. At 6 a.m. we awoke to amazing views of fjords set beside glassy water and knew that our true Kiwi adventure had just begun. We had heard so much about the South and knew that we wouldn't be disappointed.

11   We drove bleary-eyed through remote villages and rolling countryside until we found another kip-spot in a lay-by surrounded by hills and sheep. We were nearly suffocated a few hours later as the remarkably strong Kiwi sun burnt the roof of our tin-shed on wheels and we felt like a couple of roast chickens in an oven.

12   Treve's cousin Simon had emigrated to New Zealand with his wife Soo and daughter Ella 3 years previously, so we were very keen to pop in and catch up with a few friendly faces.

13   (1) Pulling into their dusty drive in the rolling hills just outside Nelson, we were greeted by more faces than we had bargained for as their troop of furry alpacas came bounding towards the fence.

14   Simon and the family seemed to have become great experts at all things alpaca-related and they were very excited to have just sent off their first batch of wool that they had hand-sheared —it would soon be returning as balls of the highest quality wool.

15   We took the chance to visit Nelson, an attractive town full of cafés. We also did an amazing coastal walk in the Abel Tasman National Park, watching sea kayakers glide in between the rainforest-clad islands that littered the bay.

16   (2) It would have been great to have been able to spend a few more days with Simon, Soo and Ella, but with so much to see down south with so little time, it was time to hit the road again.

17   We climbed southwest out of Nelson, up in the Nelson Lakes National Park, gingerly winding our way through forested mountain passes, stopping all too briefly to enjoy the tranquil scene at Lake Rotoiti. We were soon chased away by the infamous nibbling sandfly. Pressing ever further southwest, we finally emerged on the west coast at Foulwind Bay near Westport.

18   Further south, the coastal landscape became more dramatic as the mountains sloped down sharply to meet the sea and stacks of rock jutted out from the craggy shoreline.

19   Another few hours of driving and we arrived in Hokitika, where New Zealand jade is mined. The town's only reason for being seems to be the peddling of jade, or "greenstone" as it's called here. The jade itself is owned by the local Maori tribe and has to be air-lifted out by helicopter from the inaccessible mountains just inland.

20   It was from here that we got our first glimpse of the snow-covered high mountains of the Southern Alps, quite bizarrely from the beach.

21   We arrived at the alpine-style township of Franz Josef. The main tourist event there was the trek to the Franz Josef Glacier —an hour's walk up the valley, carved out by the mighty glacier. This awe-inspiring feature dominated the wide, deep-sided valley, glistening at its snow-covered peak and snaking its way further up, ending in a blue-tinged craggy face, split with bottomless ravines. (3) The photos of Victorian tourists messing about in rowing boats at the foot of the glacier illustrated how much the ice had receded during the last century— another sign of global warming. As we approached the face, an icy wind blew its way down the valley, over the glacier and reminded us that we were looking at the power of nature in action!

22   A 30-minute drive down the valley brought us to a village built at the foot of the Fox Glacier. We walked around the nearby Lake Mathieson and saw picture postcard reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in the mirror-like surface of the lake. Truly the "View of views".

23   (4) Passing prehistoric-looking beaches and swamps on the way to the Haast Pass, we stopped off at Ship Creek and watched Hector dolphins (the world's smallest marine dolphin at 1 metre in length) surfing the waves and generally having a good time performing for the tourists! Dashing back to the van to escape the ever-present sandflies, we climbed the Haast Pass, where the scenery regained its lofty stature.

24   Narrow, hair-raisingly sharp bends twisted and turned us past stunningly clear lakes and waterfalls, only parting when we arrived at Lake Wanaka. Wanaka is New Zealand top tourist destination, so we took full advantage of the campsite overlooking the lovely Lake Wanaka, which acts as an inland beach and from where the snow-capped peak of Mt Aspiring can be seen.

25   The following day, we headed south following turquoise blue rivers through deep gorges to Arrowtown, just outside of Queenstown.

26   It was great to meet up with Joby & Karla once again— a couple we met in the Blue Mountains near Sydney and who have now emigrated to New Zealand. Karla was a great tour guide and gave a full running commentary as she drove us all around the sights of Queenstown!

27   Queenstown itself is the adrenaline capital of New Zealand and set in dramatic alpine scenery. This tourist town had a real ski feel to it and was even complete with a cable car. Being the gateway to the surrounding ski areas, all of the shops were geared towards the great outdoors.

27   Only a short distance west as the crow flies[2], but a surprisingly long drive south, then west is the town of Te Anau, the gateway to Fjordland and Milford Sound. Te Anau was again set around an idyllic lake, the second largest in the whole of New Zealand and formed by a glacier. We thought the scenery couldn't get any better, until we drove along the dramatic Milford Highway towards the Sound. In the space of 30 minutes, after passing through a mountain tunnel, we dropped past glaciers down steep rock u-shaped valleys, tumbling with veins of water, down to the quays at Milford.

28   During the 2-hour boat trip, we ventured out into the Sound (in fact a fjord) towards the Tasman Sea, passing incredibly steep cliff faces which seemed to tower above us, often cascading with waterfalls.

29   Onwards then eastwards, across the flat plains of Central Otago to the kilt-wearing city of Dunedin. This city felt so Scottish, there were even bagpipe-playing buskers in the streets. Then we went on northwards.

30   So here we are now in Christchurch, the most English of Kiwi towns. You can all heave a sigh of relief that we have almost finished this epic!

1. Culture Notes

New Zealand

Text B is a travelogue, in which the authors describe in details their journey in New Zealand. In order to let readers know more about New Zealand, some important information about it will be shown below. After dealing with each item, you are required to do some output activities in the form of individual report, dialogue, interview or others forms you like.

A brief introduction to New Zealand

   New Zealand is an island country in the southern Pacific Ocean southeast of Australia. Maori groups probably migrated to New Zealand from Polynesia beginning before A.D. 1400. Discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642, the islands were visited and explored by Capt. James Cook four times between 1769 and 1777. The British established their first permanent settlement in 1840 and claimed the region as a crown colony. New Zealand received dominion status in 1907, and became fully independent in 1931. Wellington is the capital and Auckland the largest city. Population: 4,120,000.

Maori

Maori History

Maori Origins

Maori Traditions

Maori History

The Maori are the indigenous people (原住民) of New Zealand, they are Polynesian and comprise about 14 percent of the country's population. Maoritanga is the native language which is related to Tahitian and Hawaiian. It is believed that the Maori migrated from Polynesia in canoes around the 9th century to 13th century AD.

In 1642 Dutch navigator Abel Tasman was the first European to encounter the Maori. Four members of his crew were killed in a bloody encounter.

In 1769 British explorer James Cook established friendly relations with some Maori.

In 1840 representatives of Britain and Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty established British rule, granted the Maori British citizenship, and recognized Maori land rights.

Maori Origins 

There are many theories about the origins of the Maori. The commonly accepted theory today, says that the Maori originated in China, and travelled via Taiwan, the Philippines to Indonesia, onto Melanesia and reached Fiji. From there to Samoa and on to the Marquesas and turned South West to Tahiti, thence to the Cook Islands and to Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Maori Traditions

Before the coming of the Pakeha (White Man) to New Zealand, all literature in Maori was orally passed onto succeeding generations. This included many legends and waiata (song). The following are some most famous traditions in New Zealand.

n  Haka 

A kind of war dance performed before the onset of war by the Maori last century

n  Powhiri

A traditional Maori welcome involving a greeting in which people press their noses together

n  Moko

A kind of full faced tattoos, which was predominantly a male activity amongst the Maori tribes

n  Hangi

A traditional form of cooking referring to a feast cooked in the earth

Major cities

Wellington   

Wellington is a port and capital of New Zealand. It is home to 386,000 residents, with an additional 3,700 residents living in the surrounding rural areas. It is located at the southern shore of the North Island, on Port Nicholson. Founded in 1840, it became a municipality in 1853. In 1865 the capital was transferred there from Auckland. It is the financial, commercial, and transportation centre of New Zealand. Wellington produces transportation equipment, machinery, metal products, textiles, and printed materials. It is the site of the major government buildings and the headquarters of many cultural, scientific, and agricultural organizations.

 Auckland  

Auckland is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, 31 percent of the country's population. Founded in 1840 as New Zealand's capital and named for George Eden, earl (伯爵) of Auckland, it remained the capital until superseded by Wellington in 1865. It is a major manufacturing and shipping centre. A bridge links it with the growing northern shore suburbs and with Devonport, New Zealand's chief naval base.

A video clip about New Zealand

Here is a video clip about New Zealand. After watching the clip, you are required to say something about your impression on New Zealand. You can mention one or several aspects of New Zealand in the form of dialogue, interview or others.

2. Language Study

embark on: start or engage in (esp. sth. new or difficult)

* In the summer of 1763, the Mozart family embarked on the famous tour of Europe that established the young composer's reputation as a musical prodigy.

最近的政治动荡后，泰国展开了深入的运动，要把游客吸引回来。

(=Thailand has embarked on an intensive campaign to bring back tourists to the country after recent political unrest.)

refresh: vt.  revive with or as if with rest, food, etc.

 * To refresh myself from long hours of work, every day I take some time for an

activity I enjoy such as playing the piano and cooking.

有很多你可以玩的很好的游戏，它们可以有效地帮助加强和唤起你的记忆。

(=There are many great games that you can play which will actually help to sharpen and refresh your memory.)

in a…vein:  in a …manner, style or mood

* In the band’s 2009 album, a lot of the lyrics are in a similar vein to the 2006 album.

副总统以轻松的心情发表讲话。

(=The Vice President gave his speech in a light-hearted vein.)

hit the road: leave or start a trip

* The cyclists hit the road before sunrise.

我们最好早点出发。回家的路还很长啊。

(=We’d better hit the road. It’s a long way home.)

on wheels:  mobile

* Meals on Wheels are programs that deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to buy or prepare their own meals.

流动图书馆把书和其他读物送给城里的年长者和学校。

(=The library-on-wheels brings books and other reading materials to the city’s seniors and schools.)

live up to: do as well as one was expected to; do what one promised etc.

* On the whole, the course has lived up to my expectations.

大多数人认为，总统履行了他的承诺。

(=Most of the people think that the president has lived up to his promises.)

snatch:  vt.

1) take the opportunity to do sth. quickly;

* The manager’s hours of leisure were few, but now and again he snatched a few hours to himself.

他们在早晨匆匆忙忙上班前抓紧时间睡了几小时。

（=They managed to snatch a couple of hours of sleep before rushing off to their jobs in the morning.）

2) grasp or seize hastily or suddenly

* The robber approached her from behind, snatched her purse and ran away.

我还没来得及阻止，狗已抢走了骨头。

（=Before I could stop it the dog had snatched the bone.）

emigrate: vi.  leave one's own country to go and live in another

* Canada is trying to attract skilled workers to immigrate to the country to boost the economy and population.

1975年,史密斯的父母从牙买加移民到美国。

(=Smith’s parents emigrated from Jamaica to the United States in 1975.)

pop in: visit in an impromptu manner

* Why don't you pop in and see us tomorrow afternoon?

你可随时过来聊聊。

(=You could pop in for a chat some time.)

bound:  vi.  leap forward or upward; spring

* The herd bounded across the plain.

当约翰踢马匹的两侧时，马迅速向上弹跳起来。

(=When John kicked it in the flanks, the horse bounded forward quickly.)

Pulling into their dusty drive in the rolling hills just outside

Nelson, we were greeted by more faces than we had bargained

for as their troop of furry alpacas came bounding towards the

fence.

Translate the sentence into Chinese.

(=他们家位于纳尔逊城外绵延起伏的山丘中，我们的车子开进了他们满是尘土的私用车道，我们遇到了比我们预想要多的面孔：他们的大群毛茸茸的羊驼也蹦蹦跳跳来到篱笆边。)

It would have been great to have been able to spend a few more          

days with Simon, Soo and Ella, but with so much to see down

south with so little time, it was time to hit the road again.

Translate the sentence into Chinese.

(=要是能与西蒙、苏和埃拉一起多过几天就好了，但是往南还有这么多美景要看，而时间又这么紧，我们又只好上路了。)

 wind / snake one’s way:  proceed on one's way with a curving or twisting course

* The stream wound its way through the hills until it came to the edge of a valley.

游行队伍在该国商业要城里蜿蜒行进。

(=The marchers snaked their way through the nation's commercial capital.)

glimpse: n.   a brief, incomplete view or look

* When the famous singer’s biography hits the shelf, fans will get a few glimpses into his private life.

在我向窗外看时，我瞥见一个正在跑动的神秘男孩。

(=I caught a glimpse of a mysterious running boy as I was looking out of the window.)

carve out:  make or create by or as if by cutting

* These banks have been carved out by the river over time, much as the Colorado River has carved the Grand Canyon.

      长而狭窄的沿海流域最初是由冰川雕塑而成的。

(=The long, narrow coastal valleys were originally carved out by glaciers.)

at the foot of:   at the base, the bottom, or the lowest part of

 * From open spaces beside the track, you can get magnificent glimpses of the homes and farm-lands at the foot of the mountain.

山脚下有许多温泉，那里人们可洗个使人恢复体力的澡。

(=There are many hot springs at the foot of the mountain, which are good for a refreshing bath.)

The photos of Victorian tourists messing about in rowing boats at the foot of the glacier illustrated how much the ice had receded during the last century— another sign of global warming.

Translate the sentence into Chinese.

(=在维多利亚时代的照片上，我们看到有旅行者划着小船在冰川脚下转悠，这说明在以往的一个世纪中，冰已经退缩了很多 —— 这又是一个地球变暖的迹象。)

in action: in operation

*    Online booking, reservation and electronic ticketing are in action now.

眼下，这台机器不在运转中。

(=Currently the machine is not in action.)

stop off:  stop for a short time in the middle of a journey

* We stopped off for some lunch on our way to our country retreat.

在我回家的路上，我在一个加油站小超市停下来买饮料。

(=On my way back home, I stopped off at a gas station mini-mart to buy a drink.)

Passing prehistoric-looking beaches and swamps on the way to the Haast Pass, we stopped off at Ship Creek and watched Hector dolphins (the world's smallest marine dolphin at 1 metre in length) surfing the waves and generally having a good time performing for the tourists!

Translate the sentence into Chinese.

(=在开往哈斯特山口的路上，我们经过了看上去像是史前的海滩和沼泽地。我们在船溪停下，观看赫氏海豚（世界上最小的海豚，仅一米长）冲浪。它们为旅游者表演，一般说来还挺高兴的！)

surf: vt.

1) ride on waves

* The club has many instructors who live to surf, love to surf and want to share the magic of surfing with you.

上周末，我和一个朋友去冲浪。

(=I went surfing with a friend last weekend.)

2) look at different websites on the Internet

*Some people surf the Internet for fun at work.

每天我花一至三小时上网浏览与个人业务相关的网站。

(=I spend between one and three hours a day surfing the Web on personal business.)

dash: vi. run very quickly

* Everyone dashed to the window to find out what caused the noise.

我父亲总是奔波于会议之间。

(=My father is always dashing from one meeting to another.)

meet up with: meet esp. by informal arrangement

* According to this research, one in five youngsters has met up with a stranger they first encountered online.

移动服务正在改变人们见面的方式。

(=Mobile services are changing the way people meet up with each other.)

gear: vt.  make, change or prepare (sth.) so that it is suitable for a particular purpose

* This policy is geared to the needs of the people and the preservation of peace.

  超市正在为休假旺季的到来做准备。

(=The supermarkets are gearing up for a successful holiday season.)

3. Comprehension Task

Travel Promotion Act of Nevada

Here is a video clip about travel promotion act of Nevada. In order to understand the video clip, you can read some materials about Nevada. Then you are required to say something about it.

Background Information

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western United States with a population of 2,570,000. It was admitted as the 36th state in 1864. Part of the area ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848, it became a separate territory in 1861 after an influx (大量涌入) of settlers drawn by the discovery of the Comstock Lode. Carson City is the capital and Las Vegas the largest city.   

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a city with a population of 478,434. It is located in southeastern Nevada, U.S. It is famous for its luxury hotels, casinos (赌场), and nightclubs, located in the area known as "the Strip." Mormons (摩门教徒) from Utah settled the site in 1855 and abandoned it in 1857. It became a railroad town in 1905 and was incorporated in 1911. Gambling was legalized in 1931, and Las Vegas expanded rapidly after 1940. Its connections to crime syndicates (犯罪集团) began in 1946, when Bugsy Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel. By the early 21st century it was one of the country's fastest-growing metropolitan areas, attracting a year-round population as well as tourists.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is on the California-Nevada border in the northern Sierra Nevada, U.S. The lake, which occupies a fault basin, covers 500 sq km. It is 35 km long by 16 km wide and lies at an elevation of 1,899 m. Its water level has varied during seasons of drought in recent decades. Fed by numerous small streams, the intensely blue lake and the surrounding national forests have been developed as popular tourist resorts.

Video Watching

You are going to watch a video clip in which Harry Reid, US Senator for Nevada, discusses benefits of travel promotion act for Nevada. After you watch it, you are required to answer some questions below:

(1)  What is the situation of travel in USA after 9/11?

(2)  What countries will American people travel to?

(3)  What places will tourists visit in Nevada?

(4)  How many jobs will the travel promotion act create?

[1] The text is adapted from Treve & Katrina Travel the World retrieved from https://www.tktravel.co.uk/.

2 The kiwi ,a national symbol, is a flightless bird endemic (特有的) to New Zealand.

1 geography teachers would have a field day here: this is a good place to teach students geography on the spot.

2 Mordor : a fictional place in The Lord of the Rings trilogyhe Lord of the Rings trilogy The Lord of the Rings trilogy

5 Hobbiton: a fictional place in The Lord of the Rings trilogy he The Lord of the Rings trilogy

[2] as the crow flies: by the shortest and most direct route