备战2023年中考英语阅读话题训练 专题11 一带一路

    High-speed trains, Alipay (支付宝), shared bikes and online payment are seen as the new Four Great Achievements of China by young foreigners, according to a video survey by Beijing Foreign Studies University. In the video, young people from different countries along Belt and Road Routes (一带一路) were asked to name great inventions that had influenced their lives in China. The following is what they said from 4 young people of them.

Starting in Greece and finishing in Switzerland, my journey to focus on how European countries are responding to the Belt and Road Initiative （一带一路），which President Xi Jinping raised five years ago.

Patiently talking with about 100 politicians, officials, thinkers, lawyers, businesspersons and looking for stories in airports, factories and building sites during the early 40 days have made the journey more enlightening. These modem Silk Road messengers in Europe had accepted Xi's plan as Beijing prepared to host the first-ever international cooperation forum （合作论坛）on May 14th — 15th.

The interviews have enriched my understanding even though I have been closely noticing this initiative since its announcement （公告），aiming to connect Europe, Asia and Africa.

Talks with former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi well states my major findings: by calling it a century project that will benefit half humanity, he says Europeans are competing with each other to find synergies （合并效果）with China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Italy has recently cooperated with the ZTE in a 1-billion-dollar project in improving its telecommunication infrastructure （电信基础设施）and preparing the country for the 5G era. This means improving cooperation even has opportunity in the developed economies if both sides decide to do so.

Nearly all the rich countries in Europe are members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （亚洲基础设施投资银行）and through it, they will find more cooperation opportunities.

    The Silk Road is a historically important international trade (贸易) route between China and the Mediterranean (地中海). It began during the Western Han Dynasty and has been a bridge between East and West for over 2, 000 years

    The ancient road started from Chang'an (now Xi'an) and ended in Eastern Europe, near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 6, 500 kilometers long and went across one­fourth of the planet.

    The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk used to be carried along this road. Silk, jade, ceramics and iron went west to Rome. And from the west came glass, gems and food like carrots.

    The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an ancient international trade route. Besides trade, knowledge about arts, science and literature, as well crafts and technologies was shared across the Silk Road. In this way, languages and cultures developed and influenced(影响)each other.

    Today, China is trying to build the“21st Century Marine(海洋的)Silk Road”. With the help of APEC held in Beijing in November 2014, the dream of One Belt One Road(the “Silk Road Economic(经济的)Belt” and “21st Century Marine Silk Road”(“一带一路”)is coming true.

China now has more than 30, 000 kilometers of high speed track, and this is expected to increase to 38,000 kilometers by 2025. Fully two thirds of the world's high speed rail(by length) is in China. Here, we track the exciting technological developments in high speed rail and consider their cultural influence.

While the main advantage of the high speed rail lines is convenience for people to get from one city to another as quickly as possible, some of these high speed lines have become popular tourist attractions(景点). A good example of this is the Hefei-Fuzhou high speed line. Technically speaking, this was one of the most challenging high speed rail routes ever built; nearly 90% of the track was laid either on bridges or in tunnels(隧道). However, the amazing views are worth it, as the train goes through some of China's most beautiful mountainous areas, including the Huangshan and the Wuyi Mountain Ranges.

As China has gained skills and knowledge in high speed rail, it is trying to export (出口) its technology to other countries. Its first project on the international market was the line connecting

Istanbul with Turkey's capital, Ankara, 530 kilometers away. This was followed by projects among other countries. Perhaps its most challenging project is a Trans Asian network connecting China with Europe. Although it is difficult, China will make every effort to take on this plan. It is hoped to be completed by 2030 as a part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (中国“一带一路”倡议).

Thanks to high speed rail, the travel time between main cities in China has already been reduced to only a few hours. So this convenience should improve the development within and out of China. No doubt, it will also bring the people of the country closer together, and in time bring about deep social changes.

    The construction (建设) of high-speed railways in China began with the building of the Qinhuangdao- Shenyang High-Speed Railway (HSR) in 1999. Now the high-speed rail network in China is the largest in the world. So far, there have been about 1,700 kilometers of HSR in service, along with trains of an average (平均) speed of 220 km/h.

    Now Chinese government plans to spend $300 million building the largest and fastest HSR system in the world by 2020. It's said that the trains can run 400 km/h and create new business for China and other countries through the Belt and Road (一带一路).

    It's predicted that the HSR network in China will reach 30,000 kilometers and it will be like a grid, which is mainly made up of 8 long-distance high-speed rail lines: four north-south HSR lines and four east-west HSR lines. Except for the Qingdao-Taiyuan HSR, all HSR lines of the rail grid are longer than 1,000 kilometers.

    Feng Hao, an expert, says "Many markets along the Belt and Road, especially in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern European countries, are planning to build HSR lines. They look forward to getting technological support from China".

Young foreigners think High-speed trains. Alipay (支付宝), shared bikes and online payment are the new Four Great Achinvemanls of China, according to a video survey. In the video, young people from 20 countries along the Belt and Road(一带一路) told us some great inventions, they said these inventions influenced their lives in China. The following is what they said from 4 young people of them.

Justin: I'm from Romania. China is a great country and its high-speed railways are very fast, convenient and tidy. It takes me only 6 hours from Beijing to Shanghai by train. It saves a lot of time and it's cheaper than by plane. I wish we will have high-speed railways in our country someday.

Yala: I'm from Nepal. l always go out by bike. The bicycle-sharing system allows people to borrow a bike from point "A" and return it at point "B". It's cheap and a low carbon and healthy way of life. I like it very much.

Archana: I'm from India. My life in Beijing is quite different from that in India. I hardly take money with me when l go out. I can pay for almost everything by Zhi Fu Bao. Oh, it's amazing. In India, if you don't take money with you you'll be awkward.

Bond: I'm from Thailand. In China, you can find many wonderful things that we don't have. Alipay or other online payment Apps are convenient. So I can go shopping without stepping out of the doors(足不出户). lf only(要是……就好了) l could bring them back to my country.

    China, which is proud of four great inventions in ancient times, has once again showed its ability to change the world with its "four new great inventions": high-speed railways, mobile payments, shared bicycles and online shopping.

    The four innovative ways of life were the most attractive to youths from 20 countries taking part in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, according to a survey by the Belt and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of Beijing Foreign Studies University.

    "The 'four new great inventions' are all linked to China's high-tech innovation, which has improved the quality of people's lives," said Wu Hao, a director of the BRRI.

    "My wallet is no longer in use. I can buy and eat whatever I want simply with a fingertip on my phone," said Lin Jinlong, an overseas Chinese student from Cambodia, adding that even pancake sellers are using Alipay (mobile payment). "We can also order food at home, which is super convenient. If I were at home in Cambodia, I would have to go outdoors."

    The bikes themselves are not new, but the operating mode of bike-sharing is based on satellite navigation system, mobile payment, big data and other high technologies.

    "China has entered a new innovative time," said Bernhard Schwartlander, World Health Organization Representative in China. As a huge fan of bicycles, he also expressed his love for China's shared bicycles, saying that "shared bikes are bringing cycling back to people's lives".

    Rebacca Fannin, a founder and editor of Silicon Dragon, noted that China is beginning to lead in innovation in some ways. "It is increasingly clear that China is innovating and no longer copying Western ideas," she said.

    A growing number of foreigners hope to push economic development in their home countries by focusing on the need for technological achievements like that of China. Lin mentioned his experience of taking the high-speed train from Beijing to the coastal city of Tianjin, which is more than 100 km away. The journey took only half an hour, while in Cambodia, which has only two railways, such a journey may take up to three hours.

    Our country used to be very poor in technology, but great changes have taken place these years. Lots of our technology is much better than those of foreign countries. High-speed railway technology is one example.

    We learned about high-speed railway technology from foreign countries, but now we have mastered(掌握)and developed the key technology. Our high-speed railway technology is advanced. It can not only have a high speed but also be used in different environment and the cost is lower.

    China Railway Corp (CRC) is fully prepared to sell a full supply of high -speed railway technology. The company said selling of railway technology and building railways for other countries are going very well, and progress is being made in a number of countries. We have a major advantage. We are able to sell whole railway technology. It isn't very good to buy some technology from one country and other technology from another.

    The selling plan for our high-speed railway technology will follow the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (一带一路).

    Like the US-made Boeing 737 and France's Airbus, our high-speed railway technology could be an important project to help sell our technology in the future.