VOA慢速英语2015 最长铁路打开中国“新丝绸之路” -

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-14 Longest Railway Opens China’s New ‘Silk Road' 最长铁路打开中国“新丝绸之路” -

The longest railway in the world is now open. In December, a train carrying products from China arrived in Spain’s capital, Madrid. The railway is one of the most recent transportation projects that China has financed in Europe. Some call the railway the “21st Century Silk Road.” China is paying to improve roads, bridges and railroads to increase trade between East Asia and Europe. The European Union is China’s biggest trading partner, and Europe is welcoming the money China is spending to improve infrastructure¹.

The train carried 40 containers and travelled 13,000 kilometers. It began in Yiwu, a Chinese city in the coastal² province of Zhejiang, in November. It arrived in Madrid three weeks later. A ship would take about six weeks to make the same trip.  

The train is to return to China with Spanish wine and food before the beginning of the Chinese New Year in February.

Jonathan Fenby wrote the book “Will China Dominate the 21st Century?” He says China has just begun its efforts to improve trade routes.   

“These things are, are developing and they are going to go on developing, I think. There is a rail link now from Chongqing in southwest China through Russia, which ends in Duisberg in Germany.”

Trains now travel between Germany and China five times a week.

China is investing a lot of money to improve bridges and roads in Europe. It recently paid $167 million to build a bridge over the Danube river in Serbia. Chinese Premier³ Li Keqiang went to the opening ceremony. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the bridge is the first of many investments China will make in his country.  

He says the bridge is a sign of friendship between China and Serbia. He adds that there will be more such projects with China, including, in his words, new bridges and new paths to the future.

Those plans include building a high-speed rail link between Belgrade and Budapest in Hungary at a cost of $1.9 billion. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the money his country is spending shows China is taking a new approach to relations with other countries.

He says by the end of 2014 China had created 70 relationships with countries and areas around the world. He says China is building partnerships⁴, rather than alliances.

China has promised to spend $40 billion to improve infrastructure. The investments make China’s presence known around the world. However, Mr. Fenby says it is also doing so because growth in China has slowed.

“(There are) a lot of structural⁵ weaknesses in China -- everything from the financial system to the environment. And we’re at a point now where I think the present Chinese leadership first of all is ready to accept slower growth. But also there is an awareness⁶ in China of the need to get to grips with all these big problems.”

Observers say European countries have lessened⁷ their criticisms of China’s poor record for human rights and political reform as China has improved Europe’s infrastructure.

Words in This Story

infrastructure – n. structures and centers needed to operate an  enterprise or a society, such as roads, bridges and electrical plants

container – n. very large shipping⁸ boxes used to transport goods, often over long distances

approach – n. a way of doing something, or dealing⁹ with something

partnerships – n. a business that is jointly¹¹ owned; a joint¹⁰ effort or project between partners

alliances – n. people or countries joined for a special purpose

get to grips with (British idiom; the American English version of this idiom is: “come to grips with”) – idiom to deal with

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 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

8 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。