(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
The longest railway in the world is now open. In December, a train carrying products from China arrived in Spain's capital, Madrid. The railway is one of the most recent transportation projects that China has financed in Europe. China is paying to improve roads, bridges and railroads to increase trade between East Asia and Europe. The European Union is China's biggest trading partner, and Europe is welcoming the money China is spending to improve infrastructure.
The train carried 40 containers and travelled 13,000 kilometers. It began in Yiwu, a Chinese city in the coastal province of Zhejiang, in November. It arrived in Madrid three weeks later. A ship would take about six weeks to make the same trip.
The train is to return to China with Spanish wine and food before the beginning of the Chinese New Year in February.
Jonathan Fenby wrote the book "Will China Dominate the 21st Century?" He says China has just begun its efforts to improve trade routes.
"These things are, are developing and they are going to go on developing, I think. There is a rail link now from Chongqing in southwest China through Russia, which ends in Duisberg in Germany," Fenby said.
Trains now travel between Germany and China five times a week.
China is investing a lot of money to improve bridges and roads in Europe. It recently paid $167 million to build a bridge over the Danube river in Serbia. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang went to the opening ceremony. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the bridge is the first of many investments China will make in his country.
He says the bridge is a sign of friendship between China and Serbia. He adds that there will be more such projects with China, including, in his words, new bridges and new paths to the future.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the money his country is spending shows China is taking a new approach to relations with other countries.
He says by the end of 2014 China had created 70 relationships with countries and areas around the world. He says China is building partnerships, rather than alliances.
China has promised to spend $40 billion to improve infrastructure. The investments make China's presence known around the world.
Observers say European countries have lessened their criticisms of China's poor record for human rights and political reform as China has improved Europe's infrastructure.
And that's the Economics Report From VOA Learning English. I'm Christopher Cruise.
词汇解释
1.trade route [贸易] 商队的路线；贸易航路
The trade route is ours, guaranteed by treaty with the king.
商路归我们，国王做了契约保证。
2.presence n. 存在；出席；参加；风度；仪态
The boy felt constraint in her presence.
那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
3.lessen vt. 使…变小；使…减轻；使…变少 vi. 减少；减轻；变小
The difference between the city and the countryside lessens gradualy.
城乡差别逐渐缩小。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
全世界最长铁路已经开启，去年12月，一列载着产品的列车从中国抵达西班牙首都马德里。这条铁路是中国在欧洲投资建设的最新交通项目之一，中国出资改善公路、桥梁和铁路来促进欧亚和欧洲之间的贸易。欧盟是中国最大的贸易伙伴，欧洲欢迎中国投资改善基础设施。
这列火车载着40个集装箱，行程1.3万公里。去年11月从沿海省份浙江的义乌出发，三周后抵达马德里，一艘轮船走完同样的旅程需要6周。
这列火车将在2月份中国新年开始之前载着西班牙红酒和食物回到中国。
乔纳森·芬比写了《中国会主宰21世纪吗？》这本书，他说中国刚刚开始改善贸易路线。
“这些路线正在开发，他们刚刚开始开发，目前有一条连接中国西南重庆到俄罗斯的铁路，终点是德国杜伊斯堡。”
火车现在每周在德国和中国之间穿行5次。
中国投资大量资金来改善欧洲的桥梁和道路，最近斥资1.67亿美元在塞尔维亚的多瑙河上架设一座桥梁。中国总理李克强参加了开幕仪式，塞尔维亚总理亚历山大·武契奇表示，这座桥梁是中国在该国投资的诸多项目中的第一个。
他说这座桥是中塞友谊的象征，未来将和中国建设更多此类项目，用他的话来说，就是通向未来的新桥梁和新道路。
中国外长王毅说，中国的投资表明中国开始以全新的途径来发展与他国关系。
他说截止2014年底，中国已和世界各国和地区建立了70对伙伴关系，他说中国在建立伙伴关系，而不是联盟。
中国承诺投资400亿美元来改善基础设施，这些投资使得中国的存在为世界所知。
观察家称，随着中国改善欧洲的基础设施，欧洲国家弱化了对中国不良人权纪录和政治改革的批评。
这就是美国之音慢速英语经济报道，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。
