As populations increased in large cities in     1     nineteenth century, building subway lines was a way     2    (move) people from one area of a city to another quickly and efficiently. The first major subway system, the London Underground,     3    (start) in 1873 using steam trains. Subways caught on quickly in London. From 1896, it was changed in favor of an electrical system. Today’s subways around the world now work on     4    (electrical). Passengers can rely on the regular schedule of subway trains while     5    (avoid) traffic on busy city streets.

Two of the world’s earliest subways were built in Paris and New York. When the Paris Metro opened on July 19, 1900, citizens were proud of the     6    (impress) and beautifully decorated station entrances.    7     the first New York subway consisted     8     only 14.5 kilometers of track in 1904, today, it is the world’s largest subway system.

Today, subways are still popular with passengers. The Tokyo subway is the     9    (busy) in the world, with 3.2 billion riders a year. Close behind     10    (be) subways in Moscow(2.4 billion), Seoul (2.1 billion), and New York City (1.6 billion).

China’s grand transportation program will shorten the distance and make the world smaller.

The program is the “Global 1-2-3 Logistics Circle,” and     1     (it) aim is for one-day domestic delivery of goods in China, two-day delivery from neighboring countries, and three-day delivery to major global cities. The goal     2    (announce) in February, 2021 in guidelines for developing a high-quality and comprehensive transport network over the next 15 years.

“It will lead to a better allocation of global resources as goods can be transported farther and faster with less energy,” Khairy Tourk said     3    (confident), who is a professor of economics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Developing countries,     4     lie on China’s doorstep, will benefit from the expected     5    (grow), Tourk said. For example, countries like Myanmar and Vietnam are expected to be manufacturing hubs(制造中心) in the near future.

The program will benefit Europe, too, he said, as a large amount of goods     6    (transport) through the China-Europe railway network tend to be     7     relatively high value.

The program will also be     8    (benefit) to Chinese consumers, Tourk said, since they may buy     9     wider variety of overseas products and receive them faster while     10    (pay) less.

“China has laid out a sweeping transportation plan that connects the world together,” Tourk said.