英闻天下——406 Infrastructure Construction under Way in Sansha

 　　China's deep-sea economy is set to take a huge step forward as basic infrastructure¹ construction gets under way in Sansha, the country's youngest city at its southernmost point.

 

　　He Fei has the details.

 

　　Located on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea, Sansha City of Hainan Province administers the three island groups of Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha and their surrounding waters.

 

　　Officially set up last July, the city has been working on the infrastructure construction since then, especially in the field of transportation.

 

　　Mayor Xiao Jie explains.

 

　　"We've increased the number of trip of sealift vessels³. For example, the Xiongsha No.3. Before it was one or two trips per month between the mainland and Yongxing Island and now we can guarantee one trip per week. The improved transportation has raised the supply capacity of the Xisha Islands. And now we are building a bigger sealift vessel², Sansha No.1. It is expected to be put into use in 2014."

 

　　Xiao Jie says other basic infrastructure to improve people's daily lives, such as desalination⁴ plants, solar power facilities and houses for public use, have also been built on Yongxing Island.

 

　　Hainan Governor Jiang Dingzhi points out that Sansha can help the province develop its marine⁵ industry.

 

　　"The establishment of Sansha city is key to the development of Hainan Province. We'll use the opportunity to further develop the marine industry. For example, to build more trawlers with larger tonnages to continue our work in the field of marine reserve. And probably, we'll engage in oil and gas exploitation in the area."

 

　　Thanks to its geographical⁶ location, Sansha at the southernmost point of China is expected to play a critical role in the exploration of the country's South China Sea.

 

　　NPC deputy and economist⁷ Xiang Xiaomei is an expert in the marine industry. In her opinion, the economic value of oceanic territory should be well utilized⁸. And Sansha provides a support base for the country to explore the deep sea.

 

　　"Take a deep-sea fishery as an example. If you sail far in the deep sea and there is no such support base, then you need a larger ship to carry all the fishery equipment and living supplies, which costs a lot of money. Well, Sansha now plays the role of the logistic supply base between the mainland and the deep sea in the exploitation. It is the extension of the land."

 

　　Xiang also says that with Sansha as a base in the deep sea, China will learn more hydrological information about the South China Sea. It will also be another impetus⁹ for the already flourishing tourism industry in Hainan.

 

　　Mayor Xiao Jie says tourism will be the signature industry of Sansha. The first travel program it expects to launch this year is a cruise tour of the Xisha area.

 

　　"Now the preparation work is going smoothly¹⁰. We've finished the construction work on the cruise ship. We've mapped out the ship route and the tourist attractions along the tour. Safety controls are also being discussed. It won't be too long before it opens to the public."

 

　　Xiao says the cruise tour might be a two- or three-day route.

 

　　For CRI, I'm He Fei.

1 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。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

10 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。