热点话题(三)
Regular Freight Services Boost Efficiency
定期班列促效率
语篇类型：说明文 | 主题语境：人与社会 主题群： 政治经济 | 词数：278 | 易读指数：48.61 | 建议用时： 6 min |
(A China-Europe freight train departed from Duisburg of Germany arrives at Xi’an International Port in Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, July 10, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua])
文章导读：
文章主要介绍了中国国家铁路集团近期实施的中欧班列新时刻表，解释了其目的、特点以及对国际贸易的影响。
Expression bank：
schedule (n.) 日程安排，时间表 | freight (n.) 货物，货运 | stable (adj.) 稳定的，牢固的 |
transport (n.) 运输，交通 | improve (v.) 改进，提高 | efficiency (n.) 效率，功效 |
boost (v.) 促进，增加 | trade (n.) 贸易，交易 | enhanced (adj.) 增强的，提高的 |
specific (adj.) 具体的，特定的 | route (n.) 路线，航线 | departure (n.) 出发，离开 |
average (adj.) 平均的，普通的 | compare (v.) 比较，对照 | delivery (n.)传送，交付，分娩 |
goods (n.) 货物，私人财产 | ensure (v.) 确保 | reliable (adj.) 可靠的，可信赖的 |
timely (adj.) 及时的，准时的 | global (adj.) 全球的，全世界的 | industrial (adj.) 工业的，产业的 |
forward (adv.) 向前，向前方 | with the aim of (phr. v.)旨在，目的是 | control over (phr. v.)对……的控制 |
China State Railway Group has recently implemented a new schedule for freight train services between China and Europe, with the aim of ensuring more stable transport times, improving efficiency, and boosting trade between Asia and Europe. The enhanced schedule includes five scheduled weekly freight train services operating along specific routes, enabling accurate determination of transport times between cities. For example, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, a freight train departs from Xi’an, China, to Duisburg, Germany, and returns to Xi’an on Tuesdays. Similarly, on Saturdays, a freight train leaves Chengdu, China, for Lodz, Poland, with the return journey departing every Thursday.
Unlike regular China-Europe freight trains, the new service features fixed carriages, routes, shifts, and set schedules for all sections of the routes, which ensures better control over operation times and improved efficiency. This enhanced schedule has reduced travel time by about 30 percent on average compared to other China-Europe freight trains, providing customers with quicker delivery of goods. Moreover, with fixed schedules and improved efficiency, the new service enhances service quality, ensuring more reliable and timely transportation.
Stable transport times offered by the enhanced schedule support the stability of global industrial and supply chains, facilitating smoother international trade. Looking ahead, China State Railway Group plans to develop more routes with set schedules to further improve the quality of China-Europe freight train services, strengthening the role of freight trains as a reliable alternative to sea and air shipping and supporting the smooth operation of international industrial supply chains.
In conclusion, the enhanced schedule of China-Europe freight trains represents a significant step forward in improving efficiency and reliability in international freight transportation, contributing to the stability and prosperity of global trade.
1. According to the passage, how many days does it take for a freight train to travel from Xi’an to Duisburg and return?| A．Four days. |
| B．Five days. |
| C．Six days. |
| D．Seven days. |
| A．Reducing the frequency of train departures. |
| B．Regularly adjusting transport routes. |
| C．Implementing fixed carriages, routes, and schedules. |
| D．Increasing the speed of freight trains. |
| A．To reduce the number of routes. |
| B．To increase the speed of trains. |
| C．To expand services to more countries. |
| D．To replace sea and air shipping completely. |
词汇、短语运用
1. 英译汉
1. enhanced (adj.)
2. specific (adj.)
3. improve (v.)
4. efficiency (n.)
5. boost (v.)
6. trade (n.)
7. average (adj.)
8. compare (v.)
9. delivery (n.)
10. goods (n.)
2. 汉译英
1. 日程安排，时间表（n.）
2. 货物，货运 （n.）
3. 稳定的，牢固的 （adj.）
4. 及时的，准时的 （adj.）
5. 全球的，全世界的 （adj.）
6. 工业的，产业的 （adj.）
7. 向前，向前方 （adv.）
8. 路线，航线 （n.）
9. 出发，离开 （n.）
10. 运输，交通 （n.）
3. 词性转换
1. global (adj.)
2. compare (v.)
3. industrial (adj.)
4. reliable (adj.)
5. efficiency (n.)
6. delivery (n.)
7. stable (adj.)
8. enhanced (adj.)
9. specific (adj.)
10. departure (n.)
句子翻译
【知识点】 improve plan 主谓宾 look ahead
长难句分析
1. China State Railway Group has recently implemented a new schedule for freight train services between China and Europe, with the aim of ensuring more stable transport times, improving efficiency, and boosting trade between Asia and Europe.
中国国家铁路集团有限公司最近实施了一项新的中欧货运列车服务时刻表，旨在确保更稳定的运输时间、提高效率，并促进亚洲与欧洲之间的贸易。
句子结构：主语“China State Railway Group”， 谓语“ has recently implemented”，recently副词修饰implemented，宾语“a new schedule for freight train services between China and Europe”，between China and Europe介词短语作后置定语修饰freight train services。“with the aim of ensuring more stable transport times, improving efficiency, and boosting trade between Asia and Europe”是介词短语作状语，表示实施新时刻表的目的。
难点解析：这个句子的难点在于理解“with the aim of”引导的目的状语结构，以及识别出“ensuring”, “improving”, 和“boosting”这三个并列的动名词短语，它们共同构成了介词“of”的宾语。
2. The enhanced schedule includes five scheduled weekly freight train services operating along specific routes, enabling accurate determination of transport times between cities.
增强的时刻表包括五条每周定时的货运列车服务，这些服务沿着特定路线运行，能够准确确定城市之间的运输时间。
句子结构：这是一个复合句，主句是“The enhanced schedule includes five scheduled weekly freight train services”。其中，“operating along specific routes”是现在分词短语作定语，修饰“freight train services”;“enabling accurate determination of transport times between cities”也是现在分词短语作结果状语，表示这些服务的结果或效果。
难点解析：这个句子的难点在于理解现在分词短语“operating along specific routes”和“enabling accurate determination of transport times between cities”的作用和含义。它们分别提供了关于货运列车服务的额外信息和这些服务所能达到的效果。
3. Unlike regular China-Europe freight trains, the new service features fixed carriages, routes, shifts, and set schedules for all sections of the routes, which ensures better control over operation times and improved efficiency.
与常规的中欧货运列车不同，新服务的特点是路线所有区段都有固定的车厢、路线、班次和设定的时刻表，这确保了更好的运营时间控制和提高了效率。
句子结构：这是一个复合句，主句是“the new service features fixed carriages, routes, shifts, and set schedules for all sections of the routes”。其中，“Unlike regular China-Europe freight trains”是介词短语作状语，表示对比;“which ensures better control over operation times and improved efficiency”是非限制性定语从句，修饰前面的整个主句内容。
难点解析：这个句子的难点在于理解非限制性定语从句“which ensures better control over operation times and improved efficiency”的作用和含义。它提供了关于新服务特点的额外信息，即这些特点如何确保更好的运营时间控制和提高效率。
4. Looking ahead, China State Railway Group plans to develop more routes with set schedules to further improve the quality of China-Europe freight train services.
展望未来，中国国家铁路集团有限公司计划开发更多具有固定时刻表的路线，以进一步提高中欧货运列车服务的质量。
句子结构：这是一个简单句，主语是“China State Railway Group”，谓语是“plans to develop”，宾语是“more routes with set schedules”，目的状语是“to further improve the quality of China-Europe freight train services”。
难点解析：这个句子的难点在于理解“with set schedules”这一介词短语的作用，它修饰“more routes”，表示这些路线将具有固定的时刻表。另外，“to further improve the quality of China-Europe freight train services”是不定式短语作目的状语，表示开发更多路线的目的。
句型仿写
Huawei has recently launched a new smartphone，
【知识点】 provide 动名词作宾语 介词与其它词类的搭配解读
【知识点】 traditional unlike 介词与其它词类的搭配解读
【知识点】 efficiency improve 名词作宾语 不定式作目的状语
【知识点】 improve 不定式作目的状语 现在分词作状语 look ahead
同题异构
完形填空：
China State Railway Group has recently implemented an updated timetable for freight trains traveling between China and Europe. This change
For instance, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, a freight train embarks from Xi’an, China, destined for Duisburg, Germany, and returns to Xi’an on Tuesdays. Likewise, every Saturday, a freight train
Furthermore, the fixed schedules and enhanced efficiency of this new service
Looking
In summary, the revised schedule of China-Europe freight trains marks a substantial leap forward in enhancing efficiency and
| A．aims | B．boosts | C．asks | D．demands |
| A．schedule | B．chart | C．diagram | D．blueprint |
| A．times | B．distances | C．speeds | D．costs |
| A．departs | B．arrives | C．stops | D．waits |
| A．Like | B．Similar to | C．Resembling | D．Unlike |
| A．over | B．about | C．in | D．with |
| A．compared | B．added | C．subtracted | D．multiplied |
| A．passengers | B．goods | C．vehicles | D．tickets |
| A．lowers | B．enhances | C．destroys | D．maintains |
| A．flexibility | B．stability | C．diversity | D．complexity |
| A．war | B．trade | C．culture | D．education |
| A．behind | B．ahead | C．above | D．below |
| A．planes | B．trains | C．ships | D．trucks |
| A．air | B．sea | C．land | D．space |
| A．reliability | B．safety | C．comfort | D．speed |
回归课本
(2020 牛津译林B6 Unit4 Protecting Our Heritage Sites)
Following the silk road
Covering vast distances and an astonishing variety of landscapes, the Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes that extended from East Asia all the way to the Mediterranean. A key section of the extensive Silk Road network is the Chang’an Tianshan Corridor, which stretches over a distance of around 5,000 kilometres through China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, covering a total of 8,700 kilometres of trade routes. The three countries jointly pursued an application for UNESCO World Heritage status. They submitted the proposal which contained detailed research on the 33 sites along the corridor. This made history in its own way as the first successful multinational World Heritage application-and it seems to be only the beginning of the road for the Silk Road, as other countries are also planning World Heritage applications for other sections of the network.
The starting point of the corridor and the entire Silk Road network is Chang’an (present-day Xi’an), in Shaanxi Province of north-west China. It was famous as the capital of the Han and Tang Dynasties. Further west on the Silk Road, the geography gradually changes from wild deserts to high, snow-capped mountains to vast grasslands as the routes pass through the splendid Tianshan Mountains and emerge in the rolling valleys of Central Asia. Although the Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor ends here, the network continues westwards until it reaches the mediterranean.
The Silk Road began to develop in the 2nd century BCE. Assigned by the emperor, the ambassador Zhang Qian journeyed from Chang’an to Central Asia, seeking to build bridges between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions. Following Zhang’s efforts, trade routes took shape and relationships were strengthened between the major powers of the time, with the routes network reaching as far as the Roman Empire. The network expanded gradually, playing an important role in world history between the 6th and 14th centuries, and remained in use until the 16th century.
At the initial stage of the Silk Road development, silk was the main item in the trade list thanks to its light weight and high value. At its peak, many other items were contributed to the marketplace of goods. The routes were alive with strings of camels carrying loads of goods and traders selling everything imaginable. China’s exports included silk, china and tea, while horses, wool, cotton and grapes were all imported over vast distances along the network.
In addition to trade exchange, the network served as a bridge for cultural exchange which shaped the evolution of science, art, technology and many other areas in societies along the network. Astronomy and mathematics were introduced to China from India and Arabia; in Gansu Province, the Mogao Caves, home to some of the finest examples of Buddhist art, reflected the eastward spread of Buddhism from India; important Chinese inventions such as paper-making and printing were first brought to the West through the network.
All of these activities contributed to a great age of expansion as trade and cultural exchanges gave people access to new goods, knowledge and ideas. These amazingly long routes connected Eastern and Western civilizations, which achieved a shared development. In the modern age, through the Belt and Road Initiative, the Silk Road is once again connecting the countries along the ancient trade routes and promoting the exchanges of different civilizations. The addition of the Chang’an Tianshan Corridor to the UNESCO World Heritage List is a milestone in recognition of the Silk Road as a crucial part of humanity’s common heritage.
1. 根据文章内容，完成下面思维导图：
2. 根据文章内容，完成细节填空：
Read paragraphs 1 and 2, and fill in the blanks.
Geography
Covering
Further west on the Silk Road, the geography gradually changes from
| The trade list | At the initial stage | ||
| At its peak | Export | ||
| Import | |||
| Cultural exchanges | From India to Arabia to China | ||
| From China to the West | |||
链接高考(政治经济类话题)
(一)(2022·全国乙卷D篇)
If you want to tell the history of the whole world, a history that does not privilege one part of humanity, you cannot do it through texts alone, because only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity’s later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate (有文字的) societies recorded their concerns not only in writing but in things.
Ideally a history would bring together texts and objects, and some chapters of this book are able to do just that, but in many cases we simply can’t. The clearest example of this between literate and non-literate history is perhaps the first conflict, at Botany Bay, between Captain Cook’s voyage and the Australian Aboriginals. From the English side, we have scientific reports and the captain’s record of that terrible day. From the Australian side, we have only a wooden shield (盾) dropped by a man in flight after his first experience of gunshot. If we want to reconstruct what was actually going on that day, the shield must be questioned and interpreted as deeply and strictly as the written reports.
In addition to the problem of miscomprehension from both sides, there are victories accidentally or deliberately twisted, especially when only the victors know how to write. Those who are on the losing side often have only their things to tell their stories. The Caribbean Taino, the Australian Aboriginals, the African people of Benin and the Incas, all of whom appear in this book, can speak to us now of their past achievements most powerfully through the objects they made: a history told through things gives them back a voice. When we consider contact (联系) between literate and non-literate societies such as these, all our first-hand accounts are necessarily twisted, only one half of a dialogue. If we are to find the other half of that conversation, we have to read not just the texts, but the objects.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．How past events should be presented. | B．What humanity is concerned about. |
| C．Whether facts speak louder than words. | D．Why written language is reliable. |
| A．His report was scientific. | B．He represented the local people. |
| C．He ruled over Botany Bay. | D．His record was one-sided. |
| A．Problem. | B．History. | C．Voice. | D．Society. |
| A． How Maps Tell Stories of the World | B． A Short History of Australia |
| C． A History of the World in 100 Objects | D． How Art Works Tell Stories |
(二)(2023湖北校联考模拟预测)
The 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)
Ouyang Yujing, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia,
The ambassador cited two flagship projects—the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” and the East Coast Rail Link, both of
Liow Tiong Lai, co-organizer of the anniversary, thanked the scholars for making a great wealth of information on the BRI
【知识点】 政治政策
(三)(2019届高三重庆市(区县)11月调研测试卷英语试题)
写作：
1．推荐主题；2．陈述推荐理由；3．预祝会议成功。
注意：1．词数 100 左右；
2．可以适当增加细节, 以使行文连贯。
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