第一部分 英译汉
Part 1 English to Chinese Translation
Passage 1
Early Maori adapted the tropically based east Polynesian culture in line with the challenges associated with a larger and more diverse environment, eventually developing their own distinctive culture. The British and Irish immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New Zealand and also influenced Maori culture. More recently American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influence on New Zealand.
New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation. Maori developed traditional chants and songs from their ancient South-East Asian origins, and after centuries of isolation created a unique "monotonous" and "doleful" sound.
The number of New Zealand films significantly increased during the 1970s. In 1978 the New Zealand Film Commission started assisting local film-makers and many films attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement.
New Zealand television primarily broadcasts American and British programming, along with a large number of Australian and local shows. The country's diverse scenery and compact size, plus government incentives, have encouraged some producers to film big budget movies in New Zealand.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is government’s leading adviser on cultural matters. The Ministry funds, monitors and supports a range of cultural agencies and delivers a range of high-quality cultural products and services.
The Ministry provides advice to government on where to focus its interventions in the cultural sector. It seeks to ensure that Vote funding is invested as effectively and efficiently as possible, and that government priorities are met.
The Ministry has a strong track record of delivering high-quality publications, managing significant heritage and commemorations, and acting as guardian of New Zealand’s culture. The Ministry’s work prioritizes cultural outcomes and also supports educational, economic and social outcomes, linking with the work of a range of other government agencies.
Passage 2
Awakening the ‘Dutch Gene’ of Water Survival
By CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZEJUNE 29, 2014
Along a rugged, wide North Sea beach here on a recent day, children formed teams of eight to 10, taking their places beside mounds of sand carefully cordoned by candy-cane striped tape. They had one hour for their sand castle competition. Some built fishlike structures, complete with scales. Others spent their time on elaborate ditch and dike labyrinths. Each castle was adorned on top with a white flag.
Then they watched the sea invade and devour their work, seeing whose castle could withstand the tide longest. The last standing flag won.
Theirs was no ordinary day at the beach, but a newly minted, state-sanctioned competition for schoolchildren to raise awareness of the dangers of rising sea levels in a country of precarious geography that has provided lessons for the world about water management, but that fears that its next generation will grow complacent.
Fifty-five percent of the Netherlands is either below sea level or heavily flood-prone. Yet thanks to its renowned expertise and large water management budget (about 1.25 percent of gross domestic product), the Netherlands has averted catastrophe since a flooding disaster in 1953.
Experts here say that they now worry that the famed Dutch water management system actually works too well and that citizens will begin to take for granted the nation’s success in staying dry. As global climate change threatens to raise sea levels by as much as four feet by the end of the century, the authorities here are working to make real to children the forecasts that may seem far-off, but that will shape their lives in adulthood and old age.
“Everything works so smoothly that people don’t realize anymore that they are taking a risk in developing urban areas in low-lying areas,” said Hafkenscheid, the lead organizer of the competition and a water expert with the Foreign Ministry.
Before the competition, the children, ages 6 to 11, were coached by experts in dike building and water management. Volunteers stood by, many of them freshly graduated civil engineers, giving last-minute advice on how best to battle the rising water.
A recently released report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on water management in the Netherlands pointed to an “awareness gap” among Dutch citizens.
