The amazing shipping container 灵活实用的集装箱

集装箱是一种用于存储和运输货物的大型金属容器。它容积巨大，方便长途运输大批货物，让人们有机会接触到来自世界各地的商品，对贸易全球化做出了贡献。本文介绍集装箱的奇妙之处。

词汇：shipping 海运

Look at many of the items around your home and some will probably have been 

imported

 from abroad by ship. Moving 

goods 

around the world by sea is the easiest and most 

cost-effective

 way to do it. But what has made it more practical is the invention of the shipping 

container

. They're not the most amazing thing to look at, but because of their design, and especially their 

universal

 size, it means they can be loaded and unloaded on to huge 

vessels

 at any 

port

 that is big enough to accommodate them. The standardisation of these simple metal containers in the 1950s and 60s marked a turning point in 

world trade

, driving down costs and ultimately leading to 

globalisation

. 看看你家里的许多物品，有些可能是通过船运从国外进口的。通过海运在世界各地运输货物是最简单、最具成本效益的方式。但集装箱的发明使它更加实用。它们看起来并不是最神奇的东西，但由于它们的设计，尤其是它们的通用尺寸，这意味着它们可以在任何一个足够大的港口装卸到巨大的船只上。上世纪五六十年代，这些简单金属容器的标准化标志着世界贸易的一个转折点，降低了成本，最终导致了全球化。 Inside these 

versatile

 metal boxes could be anything from nappies to cars, and they are transported on container ships that 

ply

 our seas and oceans. They have been described as 'the monsters of the seas' because of their huge size. The very biggest are almost half a kilometre long and are piled high with more than 20,000, 20-foot-long (6.06m) boxes. In fact, the world's largest, The Port of Rotterdam, has a capacity of 24,346 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) – an exact unit of measurement used to determine 

cargo

 capacity for container ships and 

terminals

. With around 5,500 container ships globally, it's incredible to think about the amount of goods being moved around the world. 这些多功能的金属盒子里可以装从尿布到汽车的任何东西，它们通过集装箱船在我们的海洋上运输。由于体型巨大，它们被称为“海洋中的怪物”。最大的一个几乎有半公里长，上面堆着超过2万个20英尺(6.06米)长的箱子。事实上，世界上最大的鹿特丹港的容量为24,346 TEU(20英尺当量单位)，这是用于确定集装箱船和码头货物容量的精确测量单位。全球约有5500艘集装箱船，想想在世界各地运输的货物数量，真是令人难以置信。 However, because we now rely so much on these global 

shipments

 of goods, there can be problems when things go wrong. In 2021, the Ever Given, loaded with 18,000 containers, got stuck in the Suez Canal – blocking an important 

trade route

. Countless businesses were affected by the delay in receiving their goods. One shipping company, Maersk, said the "

ripple effects

 on global capacity and equipment" were significant. 然而，由于我们现在如此依赖这些全球货物运输，当事情出错时，可能会出现问题。2021年，载有1.8万个集装箱的“Ever Given”号被困在苏伊士运河，阻断了一条重要的贸易路线。无数商家受到延迟收货的影响。马士基航运公司(Maersk)表示，“对全球产能和设备的连锁反应”非常显著。 Despite the occasional problems, our demand for goods is increasing, and so the shipping container is here to stay. George Griffiths from S&P Global Platts told the BBC: "We're seeing a lot more of the ultra-large container ships being built… the proportion of new ships that are moving over 14,000 containers is 

staggering

." Each container can have a lifespan of up to 25 years. And even when the effects of wind, waves and loading 

takes its toll

, some find 

a new lease of life

 as land-based 

storage

 units or even used as houses and hotels! 尽管偶尔会出现问题，但我们对货物的需求在增加，所以集装箱就会继续存在下去。标准普尔全球普氏能源资讯公司的乔治·格里菲斯告诉BBC:“我们看到更多的超大型集装箱船正在建造中……运载超过14,000个集装箱的新船比例令人震惊。”每个容器的使用寿命可达25年。甚至当风、浪和负荷的影响造成损失时，一些发现了新的生命，作为陆地上的存储单元，甚至被用作房屋和酒店! 词汇表 imported 进口 goods 商品，货物 cost-effective 划算的 container 集装箱 universal 通用的，广泛适用的 vessel 船，大船 port 港口 world trade 世界贸易 globalisation 全球化 versatile 多功能的，多用途的 ply 定期往返（于） cargo （轮船或飞机装载的）货物 terminal 码头 shipment 运输 trade route 贸易路线 ripple effect 连锁反应 staggering 惊人的，令人震惊的 take its toll 造成破坏 a new lease of life “重获新生”，使用寿命延长 storage 储物，储藏 测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What is it about the design of shipping containers that makes them so useful? 2. What can be transported inside a shipping container? 3. How long are the biggest container ships? 4. Why was it a major problem when the ship the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal? 5. True or false? 

Shipping containers are scrapped after 25 years.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. It's not _______ to drive you to school every day – take the bus instead. cost-effect         cost-effective       cost-effectives     costly 2. We're waiting for a _______ of coffee to arrive from the supplier. shipping          goods             shipment          imported 3. The closure of the factory has had a _______ on the whole community. lease of life        takes its toll        ripple effect        globalisation 4. The ship left the port yesterday with a large _______ of timber. cargo             ply               storage           goods 5. The island has to _______ most of its food because it hasn't got the space to grow its own. imported          imports            importing          import 答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What is it about the design of shipping containers that makes them so useful?

Shipping containers are made to a universal size so they can be loaded and unloaded on to huge vessels at any port that is big enough to accommodate them.

2. What can be transported inside a shipping container?

Anything can be carried in a shipping container, from nappies to cars.

3. How long are the biggest container ships?

The very biggest are almost half a kilometre long.

4. Why was it a major problem when the ship the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal?

The ship blocked an important trade route and meant a delay in delivering goods.

5. True or false? 

Shipping containers are scrapped after 25 years.

False. Some containers find a new lease of life as land-based storage units or even used as houses and hotels.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. It's not 

cost-effective

 to drive you to school every day – take the bus instead. 2. We're waiting for a 

shipment

 of coffee to arrive from the supplier. 3. The closure of the factory has had a 

ripple effect

 on the whole community.  4. The ship left the port yesterday with a large 

cargo

 of timber. 5. The island has to 

import

 most of its food because it hasn't got the space to grow its own. 文章来源BBC侵权删。