New Zealand

Common Nouns

New Zealand

Polynesia

the North Island

the South Island

Southwest Pacific Ocean

Egmont

Tongariro

Mount Cook

Auckland

Christchurch City

the Chatham Islands

Maori

Official name: New Zealand

Location and nature: New Zealand /nju zilənd/ is an island country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1 600 km southeast of Australia and about 10 500 km southwest of California. New Zealand belongs to a large island group called Polynesia. The country is situated on two main islands — the North Island and the South Island — and several dozen smaller islands. Most of the smaller islands are hundreds of kilometers from the main ones. Most of its people live in North Island, and that is where you find big volcanoes like Egmont and Tongariro and the boiling pools and geysers and lakes of bubbling mud.

South Island is larger than North Island and has the highest mountains. There you can find the snow-capped Southern Alps, rising 3.764 metres to the tip of Mount Cook (named after Captain Cook, of course, because he visited the islands before sailing on westwards and discovering the eastern coast of Australia). South Island is very beautiful with its Alps and lakes and its glaciers. New Zealand was called the Land of the Long White Cloud by the Maoris. Forests of exotic pines near the centre of New Zealand's North Island, cover an area of more than 160000 hectares. This is the largest single continuous area of planted forest in the world. New Zealand has more than four hundred thousand hectares of planted forests.

The climate is pleasant at all seasons, without much difference between winter and summer. New Zealand does not have the terrible heat of Australian summers; the oceans temper its climate and the mountains bring down quite a lot of rain.

Flag: The flag of New Zealand is with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right.

Symbol: The kiwi is rather an unusual bird found only in New Zealand. It has no tail, almost no wings, and it lays an egg so large in proportion to its size. Its egg is about one fifth of its own weight. This is a tremendous size.

In many countries New Zealanders too, are known as Kiwis, for the bird is also the symbol of people of the two islands.

The capital of New Zealand since 1865, and one of its busiest ports, Wellington is at southern end of North Island, lying among hills on the western side of a natural harbour. It has a population of about 393,000. The city is home of Parliament, the head offices of all Government Ministries and Departments. It is also home of Te Papa (the ground-breaking interactive Museum of New Zealand) and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

The largest cities:

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand. The city is built around 2 large harbours, and has many world famous attractions including the Sky Tower. The Auckland Region has a population of about 1.3 million people, and enjoys a warm, temperate climate. There are many parks, gardens, historic houses, museums and other places of interest in and around Auckland.

Christchurch City.

With a population of approximately 370,000, Christchurch City is the third largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. Christchurch City is known as the "Garden City" because of its many beautiful parks, gardens and tree-lined streets.

Christchurch City was named after Christ Church, a college at the University of Oxford and was originally known as Christ Church.

Languages: English is the official language of New Zealand and is spoken throughout the country. Many native people speak their own language, Maori, in addition to English.

Status: The country once belonged to the British empire. Today it is an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of Britain and a number of its former colonies.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, is the monarch of New Zealand. She appoints a governor general to represent her, but the governor general has little power. The legislation, prime minister, and Cabinet run the national government.

Britain gave New Zealand a constitution in 1852, when it was a British colony. But through the years the New Zealand legislature has changed almost all its provisions. Today, the nation has no written constitution.

Government: New Zealand is governed under The Consitution Act of 1986, adopted in 1987, as well as other legal documents. The monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the governor-general, is the head of state. The government is headed by the prime minister, who is appointed by the governor-general following legislative elections. Members of the 120-seat parliament (the House of Representatives) are elected by popular vote for three-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 16 regions and one territory (the Chatham Islands). New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Population: The first people who settled in New Zealand were a brownskinned people called Maoris. They came from Polynesian islands located northeast of New Zealand. The country was discovered by Europeans in 1642, but they did not start to settle in the islands until the late 1700's. Today, most New Zealanders are descendants of the early European settlers. Maoris make up about 12% of the country's population. The population of New Zealand rose undramatically at first. By the 1990s it was more than 400, 000. The total population of New Zealand in 1907 was still less than 1 million, grew slowly in the 1920s, partly as a result of high wartime casualties, and had risen to 1.7 million by 1945. After that it rose quickly, reaching more than 3 million by 1975. According to New Zealand statistics by June 2012 it reached 4,433,100.

Economy: New Zealand has one of the highest standard of living in the world. For many years, the economy of the country depended largely on agriculture. It has traditionally been the mainstay of the economy, although it now employs only 10% of the population, while services and industry make up a much greater percentage of the gross domestic product. Wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, and vegetables are grown; wool, beef, lamb, mutton, and fish are additional agricultural products. The mining sector produces coal, gold, iron, and natural gas. There is extensive food processing and wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, and transportation equipment are manufactured. Banking, insurance, and tourism are also important. The principal exports are dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, and machinery. Imports include machinery and equipment, vehicles, aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, and plastic. The main trading partners are Australia, the United States, Japan, and China.

Currency: The New Zealand dollar.

Glossary.

to lie — находиться

is situated — расположена

the North Island — Северный остров

the South Island — Южный остров

dozen — дюжина

glacier- ледник

pine- сосна

weight - вес

harbour - гавань

capital — столица

ground-breaking - инновационный

official language — государственный язык

formercolonies- бывшие колонии

Maori — маорийский язык

the Commonwealth of Nations — Содружество

the United Kingdom. — Соединенное Королевство

to appoint — назначать

toadopt- принимать (документ)

tovote- голосовать

governor general — генерал-губернатор

to represent — представлять

legislation — законодательная власть

prime minister — премьер-министр

Cabinet — кабинет

torun- управлять

government — правительство

provision — положение

brown-skinned — с коричневой кожей

to settle — селиться

New Zealander — новозеландец

descendant — потомок

settler — поселенец

to make up — составлять

population — население

standard of living — уровень жизни

agriculture — сельское хозяйство

mainstay - основа

to depend on - зависеть от

wheat - пшеница

barley-ячмень pulses - бобы

dairy products - молочные продукты

manufacturing industry — обрабатывающая промышленность

service industry — сфера услуг

insurance - страхование

trade — торговля

Test

1. The capital of New Zealand is

a) Auckland

b) Wellington

c) Queenstown

2. Population of New Zealand is

a) about 4.4 mln

b) 3 mln

c) about 5 mln

3. New Zealand is located in

a) the Indian Ocean

b) the Pacific Ocean

c) the Atlantic Ocean

4. New Zealand is

a) Parliamentary republic

b) Capitalist democracy

c) Constitutional monarchy

5. The first people to live in New Zealand were

a) Maoris

b) Aboriginal Australians

c) Aboriginal Tasmanians

6.The country was discovered by Europeans in

a) 15th century

b) 16th century

c) 17th century

7. The head of state is

a) Prime minister

b) Queen of the United Kingdom

c) Governor-general

8. The official language of New Zealand is

a) Maori

b) English

c) French

9) The country is divided into

a)16 regions and one territory

b) 13 regions and 3 territories

c) 17 regions and one province

Практическое занятие № 17

Грамматическая тема: PastSimple, причастия в роли определения