New Zealand.docx

1、New Zealand 姓名：陈慧美 学号：20101310302专业班级：英语三班学院名称：外国语与国际教育学院 New Zealand New Zealand,which located in southwestern of the Pacific Ocean, is an island country. It spans 1600km from north to south and is approximately 2250km east of Australia.1.Population and LanguageNew Zealand has a population of about

2、 4.2million people, three quarters of whom live in the North Island.Most of the people are the whites, they make up about 80%.Maori make up 10%. Auckland ,Wellington and Christchurch are the most crowded cities. As for religion ,christianity is the most widespread one. The official languages are Eng

3、lish ,Maori and the New Zealand sign language.2.Territory and GeographyNew Zealand is made up of the North Island ,the South Island,Stewart Island and various small islands surrounding.New Zealand covers 268,680 square kilometers,ranking 75 in the world .The exclusive economic zone is 1.2millon squa

4、re kilometers . North Island covers 114 452 square kilometers,and South Islands area is 150 712 square kilometers. The area of two main islands is as large as Japan ,bigger than Britain.New Zealand is complimented as the land of the long white cloud.North Island is covered with thick woodlands and c

5、orplands, and a cluster of volcanoes is located here .There are many glaciers ,lakes and forests on South Island.3.Major citiesThe capital of New Zealand is Wellington ,which is the the southeast capital in the world .It has a population of 45 thousand people. Auckland is another important city ,it

6、also lies on the North Island .Auckland is not only the biggest business bay,but also an important airport and naval port. This city is kept away from pollution ,most of wood. Christchurch,Dunedin and Hamilton are other famous cities in New Zealand.4.Natural resourcesThe country possesses rich miner

7、al deposits，mainly are coal, gold, Iron ore、natural gas, and silver, manganese, tungsten, Phosphoric acid，Salt, oil, and so on, but the reserves is not big. The oil reserves is 30 million tons, natural gas reserves is 170 billion cubic meters. Forest resources is so rich with an 8.1 million hectares

8、 forest area, which accounts for 30% of the total area. The forests is almost evergreen forest, among them are giant tree fern、rattan and epiphyte. Dammara, one of the largest plants in the world ,is live in the concave ground of the relatively small north island and Coromandel Peninsula of this cou

9、ntry. And the main products are, logs, wood, paper and boards.5.AnimalsAs New Zealand is isolated from other landmasses,it has few of the advanced animal species that evolved elsewhere.Apart from two species of bats,there are no native land animals. Instead ,unique and often rare species of plants ,

10、birds and insects have developed .The kiwi is a national symbol and New Zealand often refer to themselves as Kiwi.These birds including the kiwi ,kakapo and weka thrived on the forest floor ,because of the lack of mammals and became flightless.Virtually all New Zealands native insects are found nowh

11、ere else .Several species of giant snails and unusual frogs reside in isolated areas.There are no snakes or poisonous creatures except for the very rare coastal katipo spider6.HistoryNew Zealand has been a lonely island for 50million years until 10DC, some sailors came to this island by canoes .By t

12、he year 1642,Abel Tasman ,a Dutch navigator made the first recorded European sighting of New Zealand and named it Staten Land ,which was later changed to Nieuw Zealand .However, it was not until 1769 that Captain James Cook charted the coastline and explored the country .Sealers, whalers,traders and

13、 missionariers began to arrive on New Zealand soon after Captain Cook .In the early 1800s ,many British people began communities on South Island ,where there were few Maori settles. In 1840, about 2000 European immigrants settled down at the coast of the island.The Maori and the European (Maori call

14、ed them Pakeha) asked the kingdom to enact some laws and orders .In February 6th ,1840.William Hobson ,representing Queen Victoria ,and some Maori chiefs,signed the Treaty of Waitangi,and modern New Zealand was founded. It is hrought the Treaty of Waitangi that the United Kingdom established British

15、 sovereignty in New Zealand . From 19th century ,the population in the North Island was larger than the South ,the number of population increased to 2million.By the 1890s parliamentary government along democratic lines was well established ,and New Zealands social institutions assumed their present

16、form. New Zealand became the first country to grant votes to women in 1893 .Old age pensions were introduced in 1898 .The turn of the century brought sweeping social forms that built the foundation for New Zealands version of the welfare state.Modern New Zealand is a development country ,and it is a

17、ctive in world trade and politics.7.Art The Maori has a long history ,thus they have a colorful culture ,which remains the connection between their spirit and the nature .The Maori has a special kind of dancing ,called Haka,a dance often performed to cheer before every All Blacks international rugby

18、 match . New Zealands music also attracts the worlds attention .8.Education Education is an important part of living in New Zealand,and is regarded as one of the worlds best educational system. (1)Early childhood education It is the non-compulsory education and care of young children and infants bef

19、ore they start school .Early childhood education centers include kindergartens ,playcenters, childcare centers and community playgroups.(2)Compulsory education system The government spends 200million NZD on education .School is compulsory for children aged from six to 16 years .States schools are fu

20、nded by New Zealand Government and are found nearly everywhere in New Zealand.(3)Post-compulsory education and trainingStudents who finish secondary school can go on to post-compulsory education and training . This may be at a university ,polytechnic ,private training establishment or college of edu

21、cation .Students are expected to pay fees as a contribution towards the cost of their tertiary study. New Zealand has many famous universities.Such as the University of Auckland ,Victoria University of Wellington ,Massey University.9.Custom The Zelanian greet people with hand-shaking.They usually gr

22、asp the others hand tightly ,and their eyes contact with each others directly .The man is supposed to wait for the womans hand.When people first meet,the same position of people call each other the first name,adding Mr. Or Miss. It is after they know each other well can they call the name .The Zelan

23、ian has a sense of punctuality ,they like to arrange the time and place well before meetings.A guest may show his respect for the host by arriving several minutes earlier.When it comes to small talks,it is acceptable to talk about the weather ,sports ,policy ,and tourist, Private,religion and ethnic

24、 must be avoided.If someone is invited to a Zelanians house ,he or she can bring a box of chocolate or a bottle of whiskey for the host ,a bunch of flowers for the hostess,but the gift shouldnt be too expensive. 10.Political system Similar with Australia , New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy co

25、untry, the parliamentary and ministerial are responsible . The queen of England is also the head of New Zealand , the governor of New Zealand represents exercise of its powers. The governor is appointed by the British queen, who has a term of 5 years. And as the British monarch, Governor-General of

26、New Zealand have little practical power, he cannot deny the government decision, the governor that appointed in the parliamentary election of the party leader form the government. National power lies in the cabinet and the prime minister.According to the 1986 Constitution Act, the constitution was d

27、ivided into four elements: the king ( governor ), administrative, legislative, and judicial.In 1983 through the franchise provisions of the Governor-Generals powers, the governor is a part of the parliament, participating in the cabinet with the composition of the executive committee meeting.An act

28、of parliament must be signed by the governor before it can become effective. According to the provisions of the constitution, the governor must follow government ministers advise, but in special circumstances, namely , the governor thinks that the government acted illegally , can reject to the gover

29、nments proposal, known as the right of retention. Despite the fact that the governor has few substantive rights, sometimes in some sense he still has potential political power, such as the dissolution of Parliament, announced an election, or accept the prime minister and the cabinet proposals. There

30、fore, the governor has three functions, namely, social function, ceremonial and constitutional function.Although New Zealand has no written constitution, the governments legislation, law enforcement and judicial functions in the law make it very clearly. Premier lead the party and some other parties

31、 for a parliamentary majority government. The prime minister has the right to request the governor in Council term before the end of the dissolution of Parliament, to select and dismiss ministers and cabinet members to adjust. After the election, the prime minister chooses MP and is composed by its

32、leader s cabinet. The cabinet minister is a parliamentary governments to formulate policies of the central. There are a few do not belong to the members of the cabinet minister. Members of the cabinet discuss about the policy proposal government initiated legislation on government spending. The main functions of Parliament is to make laws. All laws are started in draft, after the parliamentary debates, the draft law is generally given by the ruling party and the opposition members of the special committee. The committee listen to the public suggest