New Zealand was shocked on Friday when 50 people inChristchurch were killed by 28-year-old Brentan Tarrant. At 1.40pm Tarrant entered the Christchurch city mosque and openedfire on the congregation, killing forty-two people. He then drove to another mosquein nearby Linwood and killed eight more people. He was then arrested. Tarrant’s involvemen ...…

Story Thousands of New Zealand schoolstudents will skip school on March 15 to protest about climate change as partof a worldwide day of action. There have already been a number ofstudent strikes in other countries, mostly in Europe. The purpose of themovement is to demand that governments and societies take action againstclimate change. The nam ...…

New Zealand’s international arts festival, WOMAD will beheld this weekend in New Plymouth. The festival is being staged in Pukekura Park,which is one of New Zealand’s most wonderful parks. WOMAD starts on Fridaynight, and concert-goers are encouraged to wear fancy dress for this first,opening night. The festival will run through to Sunday night ...…

storyvocabulary In the last two weeks, The Westpac Trust Stadium in Wellingtonhas been hosting the Matatini Kapa Haka festival. Kapa Haka is the art of Māoricultural performance. For Te Matatini, adult Kapa Haka groups competed allaround the country and finally, the best 1600 performers met in Wellington forthe championships in waiata (choral s ...…

While firefighters continue to work on hot spots around theNelson region, fourteen residents of Pigeon Valley have been allowed to returnto their homes under caution. The remaining evacuees, about eighty houses, areallowed to go home between 8am and 2pm each day, but that depends on the wind.If the wind is strong, and blowing towards their hous ...…

Story Answers: Since our last news report the fire south of Nelson has grown to the point where about 2500 residents of Wakefield had to evacuate as it looked like the fire was coming towards them. Wakefield is a town 30km south of Nelson. It is a very old town, and has several historic buildings, so it was a great relief when it didn’t come an ...…

Vocabulary: hectare: 10,000 square metres rural: in the countryside broke out: when a fire starts by accident, we say it “broke out” under control: if something is under control, it means that it is no longer dangerous at this stage: now. Using this phrase means that the information may change in the future. Answers: A large bush fire broke out ...…

In New Zealand, 80% of new cancers reported every year are melanoma, or skin cancer. Two thousand, five hundred new melanoma cases are diagnosed in New Zealand every year. New Zealand has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, and Australia is very similar. However, the death rate for melanoma is lower than for some other countries becau ...…

The hottest place to be this week was Blenheim, in the top of the South Island, which recorded temperatures of 35 degrees celcius. In general, the eastern parts of NZ are being subjected to a significant heatwave that is seeing temperatures in the thirties in places like Christchurch, Kaikoura, Gisborne and Hastings. New Zealanders are being ur ...…

Chinese New Year is coming up and New Zealand cities are making plans to celebrate. While for most small towns in New Zealand, Chinese New Year will go unnoticed, there will be events to celebrate it in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin. The Whau Chinese New Year Festival will be held in Auckland on Sunday the 10th of Feb ...…

The Swedish homeware retailer, Ikea, has announced that it will open a branch in New Zealand. It plans to offer online and in-store trading throughout New Zealand, but will start in Auckland. Ikea has been discussing moving to New Zealand for some time, but the problem has been finding suitable land. The New Zealand Herald reported that Ikea’s ...…

Vocabulary: Commuter: someone who travels to work Carriage: a car pulled by a train. It has no engine. Interchange: a place where you may have to change trains. Trial: when someone tries a new business project for a short time, this is a trial. Once: here, “once” means “when” Run: here, “run” means to operate a business. Initiative: a new busin ...…

The new Family Violence Amendments Act will be legislated in July next year, but three parts of the act come into force today. The first thing that changes today is that there are three new actions that are now regarded as crimes. Trying to stop someone from breathing by strangling or suffocation is now a crime carrying a 7-year prison sentence ...…

Vocabulary: Franchise: a business system where a shop owner pays money to a larger company for the right to offer their services. A well-known example of a franchise is MacDonald’s restaurants. Enterprise: an enterprise is a business. Provide: to provide is to give something that someone needs. For example, parents should provide their children ...…

Vocabulary: initiative: a project, usually for the benefit of the community ducting: plastic tubes to protect electrical wires exporter: a business which sells things overseas rubbish: trash Grammar: What is an appositive? An appositive is a little noun phrase that defines the previous noun phrase in the middle of a sentence. “Another company, ...…

Vocabulary: Declaration: a declaration is a document saying that something is true, or that someone will try to do something. Once the document is written, people sign it if they agree with it. Biodiversity: biodiversity refers to the variety of plants and animals that we have living in our environment. If there are many different plants and an ...…

Vocabulary: Superannuation, pension: money from the government for old people Bill: a proposed (suggested) new law Count toward: use some data to qualify for something. For example: The doctor says I have to drink five cups of water every day, and coffee doesn’t count. Answers: A new bill has been introduced to parliament proposing that people ...…

Vocabulary: Soften: make less strict Exempt: if a rule does not apply to one person, that person is exempt from the rule. Property: land Lack: not enough Investors: people who buy things to make money Answers The government has decided to soften the current ban on *overseas* buyers of New Zealand homes. They have confirmed that Australia and Si ...…

Vocabulary: Amend: change a contract or law Investigate: to examine the detail of something in order to find out the truth Police: a verb, meaning to control and watch over something Commission: a part of the government that is independent from the government in conducting investigations and making judgements Attribute to: to say that something ...…

Vocabulary: Screening: being shown in movie theatres or on TV Take on: this is phrasal verb which means to adopt, to accept something new Episode: one story in a series, usually there are about ten episodes in a series of TV shows Forbidden: not allowed, prohibited Nightmares: bad dreams Anticipated: expected in the future Previous: coming befo ...…

Vocabulary: Vote: a democratic process of making a decision as a group Core values: basic ideas that are shared by a group to ensure social harmony A bill: a proposal for a new law Proponent: someone who agrees with an idea Opponent: someone who disagrees with an idea Enact: when the government allows a bill to become a law, they enact it Answe ...…

Vocabulary: Kiwi: a native bird of New Zealand Brought over: transported Nest: Nest can be a noun, meaning the home of a bird, but it can also be a verb, meaning to build and live in a nest. Sanctuary: a safe place Answers: Twenty rare kiwi have been moved to Shakespeare Regional Park near Auckland. These birds are little spotted kiwi, New Zeal ...…

Vocabulary: Anniversary: a time that is exactly one year after an important event Interest: curiosity, when people want to know about something Parental leave: when somebody has a new baby, they can stop working for a short time so that they can stay home and look after the baby In office: this means working in a political position where you we ...…

Vocabulary Contamination: pollution of food Harshly: an adverb meaning harsh. Harsh means very strict, or too strict. Punnet: a container for berries Answers: In the last month Australia has struggled with a health scare related to strawberries, and this is now something that New Zealanders also need to be careful of. Last week in Australia, th ...…

Wedneday 19 September, 2018 A New Rhino in Auckland Zoo Vocabulary: Breeding program: When people plan for captive animals to have babies Settle in: become accustomed to a new home Calves: the plural of “calf”, a baby ruminant (an animal that eats grass) Answers Hamilton Zoo has sent a young female white rhino to Auckland Zoo as part of a breed ...…

Vocabulary: southern: an adjective meaning “in the South” southerly winds: winds that come from the South towards the North a record: the best/worst yet Answers: Although it is now Spring, heavy snow has started to fall in the southern part of the South Island. Drivers are being told to put chains on their wheels if driving between Queenstown a ...…

Vocabulary: Announce: tell everybody Demolish: destroy, knock down Space: an area of land Low income: if you have a low income, it means that you don’t have enough money Development: a building project Tram: a small train in the city, such as in San Francisco Answers: The government has announced plans to build 10,000 more houses in Mt Roskill, ...…

Vocabulary: Celebrate: Do something fun to show that you are happy Perform: to do something in public. Usually if you perform a song or dance, you feel nervous because everyone is watching you. Compulsory: if something is compulsory, you have to do it, you have no choice. Promote: if you promote something, it is a little bit like advertising. Y ...…

Vocabulary: induct: If you induct someone, you bring them into a group. venue: the place where a group event, such as a wedding or a concert, can be held prevent: to prevent something is to stop it before it can happen involved in: If you are busy with a particular group activity, you can say that you are involved in it. So we can say, “She is ...…

Vocabulary: rate: rate is similar to speed, but is used to talk about how often something happens, rather than speed of movement. investment: People often say, “if you want to make money, you have to spend money.” This is the idea of investment. environmental protection laws: Laws that control pollution or other damage to the environment are ca ...…

Vocabulary: rent: money that is paid to a landlord to be able to live in a house tenancy: an agreement to rent a house tenant: someone who is renting a house to go through a process: to do a number of things in a particular order, step by step bid: to compete with other people who want to buy or rent something by naming the highest price that y ...…