VOA常速英语2018--快递是如何送到收件人手中的

This is the FedEx Super Hub in Memphis, a huge place taking up close to four square kilometers. And for this private package delivery company, nighttime is their busy time.

这里是孟菲斯的联邦快递超级转运中心。这里很大，占地近4平方千米。对于这家私人行李托运公司来说，晚上正是忙的时候。

We would actually call this the Memphis World Hub, because it connects all of our network around the world. It’s shortly after 10:00 p.m. and the aircrafts start landing one after the other. This is the first part of the whole process, so what you’re seeing is the offload of a 767, okay. So what they’re doing is…they’re taking these containers or bringing them down to the ground. They’re going to take them on one of these dollies in the tug¹. And you’re going to pull them to one of the inputs² that we have here, okay. A team usually consists of a dozen people. They only have 30 minutes to unload more than 50 tons of cargo³. Because sorting takes place in descending⁴ planes, the noise is deafening⁵. And all employees must wear special headphones. Talking is a luxury. They use gestures to communicate.

对我们来说，这里是孟菲斯世界枢纽中心，这里连接着我们在全球各地的网点。晚上10过后，飞机就开始一架接一架的落地。这是整个流程的第一部分，接下来还会看到货机波音767卸货。那么，它们正在做的是——将集装箱卸在地面上。它们会把这些集装箱放在可拖拉的滑动台车上，然后再把它们拉到投货口。一个团队通常有10几个人。他们只有30分钟的时间，却要卸载50多吨的货物。理货是在下降的平台里进行的，期间会伴随着震耳欲聋的噪音。因此，所有员工都要佩戴特殊的耳机。大家都没有时间聊天，只能用不同的姿势来进行交流。

Now, this is all one team. These folks will move from aircraft to aircraft as a team. Large containers have little wheels, so that’s easier to move them. The next step is loading parcels on to the sorting belt. More than 10,000 employees work here. Their main task is to place boxes on the conveyor belt with barcode facing up. Then a special scanner reads the crate⁶, and gets the information about the weight and dimensions of a box as well as its final destination point.

现在，这里是一个团队。这些人会作为一个团队从一架飞机移到另一架飞机。体型庞大的集装箱轮子都带着小轮子，这样移动起来容易一些。下一步就是将货物放在分级输送带上。这里有10万多名员工。他们的主要任务是把集装箱放在输送带上，同时将条形码朝上放。然后会有一个特殊的扫描机读取货箱的信息，记录货箱重量、尺寸以及目的地。

Memphis will sort them, the package, about 1.4 million a night, will come through this facility every night, about 700,000 in the daytime. So it will ride the belt system. It will be sorted automatically, some of it by hand. And it’ll get reloaded into a container, go back out on an airplane, and then it will happen in reverse. A team has 20 minutes to fill each container with assorted⁷ packages.

孟菲斯枢纽中心每晚会对近140万个包裹进行分拣，白天会分拣近70万个包裹。货物会经过传送带，然后进行自动分拣，不过有些是手工分拣的。然后货物会重新装载到集装箱中，并送上飞机，如此反复。每个团队有20分钟的时间将分拣好的包裹装载集装箱里。

FedEx can transport any cargo, even animals. In fact, FedEx transported pandas from a Washington DC zoo back to China. Seals and bears have also been sighted on the passenger list. Anything if we can fit it through the door of the aircraft, we can probably ship it for you.

联邦快递可以运送各类货物，动物也不例外。实际上，联邦快递曾将熊猫从华盛顿特区送回中国。联邦快递还曾运送过海豹和熊。只要挤得进飞机门，就没有运不了的东西。就算挤不进飞机门，我们也会进行船运。

The FedEx fleet includes more than 650 aircrafts. Each is named after the child of a FedEx employee. That started with our first Falcons⁸ named after our Chairman’s daughters. And then it has continued throughout all of our years of operation. We’ve continued to name plane.

联邦快递的飞机舰队有650多架飞机。每只飞机都是以其员工孩子的名字命名的。第一批猎鹰号就是以董事长的几个女儿命名的。这个传统这些年来一直保留着，一直还是给飞机起名字。

After the last plane lands, the line shift comes to an end early in the morning. By then, all the parcels are sorted and headed to their destinations. Workers head home to rest and do it all over again the next time they come back.

最后一只飞机着陆后，这一晚的货物分类运送工作终于在大清早结束了。那时候，所有包裹都已经分拣完毕并送往目的地了。员工们终于得以回家休息，然后再重新来过。

1 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

2 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

5 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

6 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

7 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

8 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句