From gunpowder to Alipay:how Chinese technology has changed the world

安徽太湖中學 周艷霞

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中國古代的四大發明造紙術、印刷術、指南針和火藥為人類文明和進步做出了卓越的貢獻。造紙術和印刷術為人類文明的傳播、交流提供了一種便捷快速的媒介保障；指南針和火藥則直接推動了大航海時代的到來和新航路的開辟。中國現代的四大發明高速鐵路、支付寶、共享單車和網上購物，盡管有的不是在中國發明的，但它們在中國的發展速度比在地球上任何地方都要快！中國人正在用他們的智慧和創造力改變世界！

文章詞數 5 5 6 建議用時 1 0′ 難度指數 ★★★

Chinese history is fascinating!The reason why I became interested in learning Mandarin is that I was first interested in Chinese history and culture.When I first began studying ancient China,I was blown away by how rich and surprising the 5,000-year history is.Some still don’t know about China’s history of inventions that would spread beyond China to change the world forever.Traditionally,there are four major ancient inventions that Chinese acknowledge—papermaking,gunpowder,printing,and the compass.

Today,China is experiencing an entirely new technological era.Modern China is a much different place from ancient China,obviously!

Recently,the Beijing Foreign Studies University Silk Road Research Institute asked foreign students in China which Chinese inventions and technologies they would like to see in their home countries.The students voted on four major “modern Chinese inventions”:high-speed rail,Alipay,shared bicycles and online shopping.These four technologies may not have all been invented in China,but they have taken off here and spread faster in China than anywhere else on the planet! Let’s take a look at each of these modern“inventions”.

High-speed rail

China may not have invented high-speed rail,but China is making it faster,better and more far-reaching.China has 22,000 miles of the high-speed rail,which accounts for two-thirds of the world’s total.High-speed rail is a safe and convenient alternative to flying.It’s also a great way to see the Chinese countryside develop at an exciting speed.China today holds many new patents that are pushing high-speed rail into its next stage of development!

Alipay

Alipay is a part of daily life for young Chinese.The online payment service was created in 2006.Over 400 million users are registered in China today,with 42.3 billion transactions having been made via Alipay to this date.It’s fast,convenient and actually saves time over using a credit card or making the payment in cash.Those in China love using it and it’s certainly something that foreigners in China will miss when they leave!

中國的歷史是迷人的！我之所以對學習普通話感興趣，是因為我首先對中國的歷史和文化感興趣。當我一開始研究古代中國的時候，我被如此豐富和令人驚訝的五千年的歷史震驚了。有些人仍然不知道中國的發明史會傳播到海外，永遠改變世界。傳統上，中國有公認的古代四大發明：造紙、火藥、印刷和指南針。

今天，中國正在經歷一個全新的技術時代。很明顯，現代中國與古代中國有很大的不同！

最近，北京外國語大學絲綢之路研究所詢問在中國的外國學生，他們希望在自己的國家看到哪些中國發明和技術。學生們經過投票選出了四大“中國現代發明”：高速鐵路、支付寶、共享單車和網上購物。這四種技術可能并不都是在中國發明的，但它們在中國的發展速度比在地球上任何地方都要快！讓我們來看看這些現代“發明”。

高速鐵路

高鐵或許不是中國發明的，但中國正在使其更快、更好、更深遠。中國擁有22000英里的高速鐵路，占世界總量的三分之二。高鐵不僅是一種安全、方便的航空替代方式，也是一個觀看中國鄉村騰飛的好的方式。今天的中國擁有許多新的專利，這些專利正在推動高鐵進入下一個發展階段！

支付寶

支付寶是中國年輕人日常生活的一部分。在線支付服務創建于2006年。截至今日，在中國注冊的用戶超過了4億，其中有423億筆交易使用的是支付寶。它快速、方便，而且節省了使用信用卡或以現金付款的時間。中國人喜歡用它，這當然是外國人在離開中國的時候會想念的東西！

Shared bicycles

Bike-sharing programs have been around for decades in European cities,but China has made great progress in revolutionizing how users access the bicycles,making the Chinese shared bicycle programs the most convenient and widely-used programs on the planet today.

This year,Mobike,China’s largest bike-sharing company expanded into the Washington D.C.market.It allows Americans to access bicycles throughout the city at all points,with users being able to“unlock”the bicycles with their smartphonesand taking them from point A to point B without restriction.If the D.C.program is a success,we will surely see expansion into other US cities as well!

Online shopping

Although eBay and Amazon have been around for decades outside of China,the Chinese are now more crazythananyoneelsewhenitcomestoonline shopping.China is the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce market.The e-commerce industry has seen rapid growth in the past few years,including a surge in the delivery and distribution industry.The online shopping phenomenon has also supported the growth ofa multi-billion dollarexpress delivery industry with hundreds of thousands of workers delivering all kinds of goods to Chinese consumers on a dailybasis.Economists now consider the Chinesee-commercemarkettobetheNo.1 consumer market in the world today,growing by 25%each year!

共享單車

共享單車項目在歐洲的城市已經存在幾十年了，但中國在改變用戶如何獲得自行車的方式方面取得了巨大進展，這使得中國的共享單車成為當今地球上最方便和使用最廣泛的項目。

今年，中國最大的自行車共享公司摩拜單車擴展到華盛頓特區市場，它允許美國人在城市的任何地方都能使用自行車，用戶可以用智能手機“解鎖”自行車，并不受限制地將自行車從A點帶到B點。如果華盛頓項目成功的話，我們肯定也會看到它擴展到美國的其他城市！

網上購物

雖然易趣和亞馬遜在中國之外已經存在了幾十年，但在網上購物方面，中國人比其他任何人更瘋狂。中國是世界上增長最快的電子商務市場。電子商務行業在過去幾年中迅速增長，包括快遞和分銷行業的激增。網絡購物現象也支持了價值數十億美元的快遞行業的發展，成千上萬的工人每天都在為中國消費者送貨。經濟學家認為中國電子商務市場是當今世界第一大消費市場，年增長25%！

Language study

1.我之所以對學習普通話感興趣，是因為我首先對中國的歷史和文化感興趣。

The reason _______I became interested in learning Mandarin is ________I was first interested in Chinese history and culture.

【點石成金】why引導的是定語從句修飾reason；that引導的是表語從句。The reason why...is that...“……的原因是……”，可以看作是一個固定句式。故答案分別為why和that。

例句仿寫

我們需要學習電腦的原因是電腦在我們的日常生活中越來越重要。

2.中國擁有22000英里的高速鐵路，占世界總量的三分之二。

China has 22,000 miles of the high-speed rail,______________two-thirds of the world’s total.

【點石成金】本句是一個復合句。which引導的是非限制性定語從句，在定語從句中作主語。account for“說明（原因、理由等）;導致，引起;（在數量、比例上）占”。答案為which accounts for。

例句仿寫

(1)我買了Sherlock Holmes這本書，它是我的同學向我推薦的。

(2)我們學校的女生占總人數的48%。

3.它允許美國人在城市的任何地方都能使用自行車，用戶可以用智能手機“解鎖”自行車，……

It allows Americans to access bicycles through-out the city at all points,with users________________________“unlock”the bicycles with their smartphones...

【點石成金】本句是一個簡單句。主語是it，謂語是allows，with users being able to...是“with+賓語+賓語補足語”結構。由于作賓語補足語的動詞和賓語是邏輯上的主謂關系，所以用動詞ing形式。答案為being able to。

例句仿寫

不一會兒，他們就來到一個兩岸長著紅花綠草的小河邊。

4.雖然易趣和亞馬遜在中國之外已經存在了幾十年，但在網上購物方面，中國人比其他任何人更瘋狂。

AlthougheBayandAmazonhavebeenaroundfor decades outside of China,the Chinese are now morecrazy than anyone else________________________________online shopping.

【點石成金】本句是一個復合句。Although引導的是讓步狀語從句；when it comes to...“當提到……；當談到……”，是固定句式。答案為when it comes to。

例句仿寫

談到樂器，我最喜歡鋼琴。