英语国家社会与文化New zealand新西兰

Real mediaeval age’s world
Fra Baidu bibliotek真实的中古世界
Geography and Land
• New Zealand is a large, long group of island, 2000 kilometers from north from to south. • A huge diversity of physical geography has produced a wide variation in landscape.(多样的自然 景观）The North Island: volcanoes(火山), ski fields(滑 雪场), thermal region(温泉区), and so on. The South Island: the Southern Alps. • Unique flora and fauna(独特的动物群植物群）
History
• New Zealand ——Aotearoa, “land of the long white cloud” —— was settled over 100 years ago by voyagers from East Polynesia. • These settlers, the forebears of today’s Maori, lived in tribes based on family networks. By 1200, they had settled in the North Island and the South Island. • The first European navigators arrived in 1642. • The Treaty of Waitangi(怀唐伊条约)was an instrument designed to bring law and order in trading settlements and to protect Maori rights in dealings with the settlers. • Settler society boomed after the gold rusher from the 1860s. Economic depression in the 1880s produced social and economic change. Worldwide economic depression hits New Zealand in the late 1920s.
Economy
• Agriculture New Zealand is a rugged country, with little flat, naturally arable land, and its reputation as the world’s largest farm has been the result of hard work. New Zealand’s climate allows almost all livestock to remain outside all year round. • Forestry & Fishing Forest cover more than a quarter of New Zealand. Forest products are important earners of oversea funds. • Energy New Zealand is largely self-sufficient in energy. Fast-flowing rivers provides about 60% of the nation’s electricity. • Overseas Trade New Zealand lives by trade.
The Alps
• It is a small country with a small population, a long way from the large powerful countries, but many people know about New Zealand. • It has an interesting geological （地质学的） history. • Its government and people speak out against nuclear weapon. • The first country where women could vote for a new government. • Maori people. • A lot of tourists go to New Zealand and enjoy holidays.
Environmental Issues
Introduced animals have seriously affected native fauna and their habitat.(外来物种的生物入侵） New Zealander’s environmental awareness is reflected in legislation. In 1991, the Resource Management Act(资源管理法) came into effect. It was the first piece of environmental legislation of its kind in the world.
Auckland
Government
• New Zealand is an independent state, governed by a democratically elected parliament. New Zealand has no written constitution. The head of state is the British monarch Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand, represented by a Governor-General. • There are currently(2008 election) 122 Members of Parliament(MPs), who are all elected. Seven of these are Maori MPs. • The parliamentary election in 1996 was held for the first time under the proportional representation system as MMPR(混合比例代表制). MMPR offers an opportunity for a range of parties to gain seats by achieving at least 5%of the party vote.
Education
• Education in New Zealand is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16, and tuition in state school is free to New Zealand resident. • The largest school in New Zealand, the Correspondence School(函授学校), provides distance education for students from early childhood upwards. • There are nine universities in New Zealand: Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, Canterbury, Lincoln, Massey, Otago, Victoria, Waikato, and one Maori university, Te Wananga o Antearoa.
Maoritanga
(毛利文化）
• Maoritanga means “Maori culture”, and one in seven people identify themselves as New Zealand Maori. Maori people today have adopted many aspects of western life, and Maori business make up one of the most important parts of the private sector. At the same time, many Maori sustain their own unique culture.
The New Zealanders
• Most New Zealanders (about 86%) live in cities and towns, and about 75%live in the northern Island. Much of the country is too much mountainous for people to live. • Around 80% of the New Zealanders identify themselves as having European ancestry. The next largest population group are Maori, 15% in 2006. people from the Pacific Island made up about 7% of the population in 2006. 碰鼻礼
Local Government
• There are three levels of local government, and a ratepayer may deal with all three in everyday life. • Regional councils(地方民防) have an environmental overview and are responsible for resourse management. • Territorial authorities(土地局) are City Councils, District Councils and the Chatham Island Country Council. • Community boards(社区委员会) promote local community interests and may have other powers than the local government give them.