The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway(HSR) started official operation on October 17. It’s the first HSR project that China     1     (independent) completed overseas. It also shows that China and Indonesia have achieved results under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI,”一带一路”倡议).

The railway is called WHOOSH. It’s the first of its kind in Indonesia. The 142.3-kilometer-long line has four stations,     2     (connect) the country’s capital city Jakarta (雅加达) and its fourth largest city Bandung (万隆). For now, 14 trains run between the two cities. The frequency will be increased if market demand     3     (grow).

The railway can carry up     4     600 passengers. It has a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour,     5     cuts the journey between the two cities from 3.5 hour to just 46 minutes. The shorter journey will create more job     6     (opportunity) along the line.

In 2017, Indonesian President Joko Widodo     7     (speak) highly of the BRI. It’s not just empty talk. Instead, it’s a real effort     8     (make) to the world. With the operation of the Jakarta Bandung HSR, a new     9     (economy) zone is taking shape. That is already happening along the China Laos Railway. The China Thailand HSR project is also underway.     10     it’s completed, it will bring more benefits to Southeast Asia and beyond.

The “Tian Le” vessel (轮船),    1    is operated by COSCO Shipping Special Transportation Co., Ltd., set sail from south China’s Guangzhou City on Monday,    2    (mark) the official opening of    3    first regular direct shipping route from Guangzhou Port in Guangdong Province to Brazil.

This sea route has become the fifth one to BRICS countries added to Guangzhou Port this year. In the future, at least eight multi-functional vessels will    4    (use) on the route, operating on a bi-weekly schedule and providing     5    (stability) bi-directional shipping services between China and South America.

The inaugural (首行的) ship is loaded with a full cargo of high-value goods such as Chinese-made passenger cars, construction machinery and electronics.    6    (ensure) the fresh delivery of cold chain products such as fruits and meat, it is also equipped    7    refrigerated container plugs.

“The opening of this direct shipping route to South America has shortened the voyage by at least five days, lowering logistics costs and transportation time for import    8    export businesses,” said Shen Jiayu, deputy director of the Business Expansion Department at Nansha Phase I and II of Guangzhou port.

    9    (current), the foreign trade routes from the Nansha of Guangzhou Port have expanded to more than 150, connecting over 300 ports in more than 100 countries and    10    (region) for maritime trade.

Big, heavy vehicles that can’t climb steep hills, running on two steel rails — we’re all familiar with the concept,    1    we call them railways or railroads. Right? However, here’s one of the most unusual railways    2    break the rules in order to reach the places other trains can’t roll: Chongqing Monorail (单轨), China.

Monorails have been around for more than a century,    3    they’ve never quite fulfilled the futuristic promises of those early    4     (promoter). That said, Chongqing Monorail is an     5    (exception) example where the unique qualities offered by monorails are ideally suited to their environment.

Chongqing in China is home to the longest monorail system on the globe, carrying millions of passengers a year on two high-capacity railway lines    6    (total) 61 miles in length. At just over 34 miles, Line 3 is also the    7    (world) longest single monorail line with an annual ridership of around 250 million. Brought into    8    (operate) between 2005 and 2016, the two lines have 70 stations with a mix of underground and elevated sections.

With extreme differences in altitude, Chongqing’s authorities    9    (force) to seek an alternative to conventional trains when they needed to transform its public transport system and monorail’s ability    10    (negotiate) steep climbs and tight bends made it the ideal solution. Finally, Chongqing Monorail emerged.

China has entered the business of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft took     1     from Shanghai on Sunday and landed at Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128 passengers on board. The company that made the plane     2     (be) the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is shortened to “COMAC”. China’s President Xi Jinping praised the C919 aircraft as     3     success of Chinese innovation. Newspapers in China called the C919 “a symbol of national pride”. A passenger on the flight     4     (impress) with the plane. He said: “The flight was     5     (extreme) smooth, comfortable and memorable. I’ll remember this for some time to come.”

COMAC hopes to be a major     6     (play) in the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete with industry giants such as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began in late 2011. In September 2022, it was passed     7     (fly) commercially in China. COMAC’s first customer was China Eastern Airlines,     8     bought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to build 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were     9     (order) for more than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will soon start making orders,     10     (add) that the plane was an “important milestone” for China’s aircraft industry.

The sheepskin raft (羊皮筏), the oldest means of transportation along the Yellow River, has a history of nearly 2,000 years. The airbag of the raft is made of     1     whole sheepskin and goes through many processes including heating to remove hair, soaking in salty oil, sewing, drying     2     blowing. Then the airbags     3     (fasten) to a wooden stand, enabling its use for transporting people and goods across the water.

It is said that the largest sheepskin raft in old times     4     (consist) of more than 600 sheepskin airbags, with an impressive length of 22 meters and a     5     (wide) of 7 meters. It was capable of carrying around 30 tons of goods and drifting over 200 kilometers in one day.

In the early 20th century, before the 1950s,     6     railways were not yet in operation and road traffic was     7    (convenient), the sheepskin raft served as the most important means of transportation for residents     8     (live) along the Yellow River.

However, with the rapid development of society, the sheepskin raft has largely played its historical role     9     transporting people and goods. Nowadays, it can only be found along the banks of the Yellow River in some cities in Gansu province. It has become a tool for people     10     (do) some sightseeing on the Yellow River.

Public transport is     1     important part of many people’s lives. We need it to go to work, visit family and     2    (friend), go on trips, and go about our daily business. However, in many countries, trains, buses and subways (地铁) are     3    (amazing) expensive. A new plan in Germany has been started to make     4    (get) around easier. Transport companies have got together to create the Deutschland-Ticket (D-Ticket for short). This allows people who buy it     5    (use) all local and regional (区域的) transport across the country for just €49 a month. The ticket is for all public transport in Germany except long-distance intercity trains (长途城际列车). So far, the companies     6    (sell) more than three million tickets.       

Transport bosses hope the new ticket will be good for the environment. They want more people to leave their cars at home and use more environmentally-friendly forms    7     transport. Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, welcomed the new ticket. He said this easy     8    cheap offer would help Germany achieve     9    (it) climate (气候) goals and be carbon neutral (碳中和的) by 2050. A transport expert said more people should use trains and buses. Other     10    (Europe) countries may also start a similar ticket.