高铁给中国人带来新生活

 　　高铁给中国人带来新生活

　　Ms. Wang is one of the millions of officer workers in Beijing. For her upcoming business trip from Beijing to Zhengzhou, she chose to travel by high-speed railway. In fact, for both personal and business trips, she prefers high-speed railway to other methods of transportation.

　　Wang says fast speed and good service are the two things about high-speed trains that keep her riding the rails.

　　"It's fast and convenient. Everyone knows that time is money. Sleepers¹ on a slow train cost too much time and energy. With the high-speed railway, you could always save time. They provide good service, too. Its service has been well recognized by many people."

　　Ms. Wang's opinion perhaps echoes many others' in China. More and more people are choosing high-speed railway over other methods of transportation because it's considered fast, punctual, comfortable and it consumes low energy.

　　But just three years ago, the July 23rd Wenzhou Train Collision added to a national sense that safety was taking a back seat to the country's fast developing infrastructure².

　　Mr. Li is a retired³ college teacher.

　　"Back then, there were several accidents related to high-speed rails, not just the one on July 23rd. High-speed railway development was growing too fast, at the risk of ignoring people's safety."

　　For the three years that followed, Chinese authorities have slowed down the speed of those trains, but they continued expanding the national network of them.

　　Today, the country has developed a vast, nation-wide grid⁴ of high-speed railways. From the 30 minutes ride between Beijing to Tianjin in the northern part of the country to the five hour trip from Beijing in the north to Shanghai in the south, all routes have played a part in bringing about new ways of life to people in China.

　　What high-speed railways have already changed in people's daily life is how they spend their holidays.

　　Ge Lei is the marketing⁵ manager of China CYTS Tours Company.

　　"In the tourism market, high-speed railways have offered people more options for weekend traveling. For example, if you live in Beijing, on weekends you can go to Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an or Yangzhou for a quick getaway. So, high-speed railways have increased tourism on weekends."

　　In fact, high-speed railways have also changed people's choice of where they live related to where they work.

　　Shi Dan is head of the reach center on energy economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　"For example, if someone works in Beijing, he can choose to live in Tianjin or the suburb of Beijing and commute⁶ through high-speed railway. This would probably change his way of life. Although it's a little bit expensive to live this way now, with the cost to take high-speed trains lowering, it's entirely⁷ possible that people will choose to live this way in the near future."

　　In the long run, high-speed railways are likely to stimulate⁸ economic development in the regions through which they pass.

1 sleepers   

n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环

参考例句：

• He trod quietly so as not to disturb the sleepers. 他轻移脚步，以免吵醒睡着的人。 来自辞典例句
• The nurse was out, and we two sleepers were alone. 保姆出去了，只剩下我们两个瞌睡虫。 来自辞典例句

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。