一条友谊、合作、繁荣的致富铁路

河南 刘同功

中老铁路作为中老友谊的标志性工程，是一条连接了中国和老挝两个国家的跨国铁路，全长1，000多千米，从中国云南的昆明出发，一路穿山越岭，横跨两国边境抵达老挝首都万象。 它不仅奏响我国与世界合作发展的新乐章，还架起了国与国之间的友谊桥梁。

主题语境：人与社会 篇幅：348词 建议用时：7分钟

China-Laos Railway is a landmark project of China-Laos friendship. This railway is a big project linking China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Laos's strategy of“transforming itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked country”. In Laos, the railway stretches 414 kilometers from Boten, a border port between southwestern China and northern Laos, to Vientiane in the south. The entire railway is over 1,000 kilometers long, with the section in China being over 508 kilometers. The railway is built according to Chinese technical standards, with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

China-Laos Railway is the first international railway mainly invested by China, built with Chinese equipment and directly connected with China's railway network. It provides more opportunities to promote people-to-people ties and enhances friendship between the two countries. It has created more than 110,000 jobs for locals in Laos and helped villagers along the route build nearly 2,000 kilometers of roads and canals.

The railway has shortened travel time from Vientiane to China-Laos border from 12 hours to less than three hours. It is also expected to realize direct transportation and same-day access from Vientiane to Kunming, bringing great convenience to the people of China and Laos and everyone along the route.

Furthermore, China-Laos Railway was built with great difficulty given the complex geological structures along the way and abundant rainfall throughout the year. The ratio(比例) of bridge and tunnel to the railway is 87.3 percent with 93 tunnels and 136 bridges, and the construction of the whole railway lasted 11 years. The Chinese and Lao people braved these construction difficulties and forged a profound friendship in the process.

China-Laos Railway is a railway of cooperation. Laos has actively participated in and supported the BRI. The two sides signed the Laos-China Economic Corridor Cooperation Framework Agreement in 2019, laying a foundation for cooperation.

China-Laos Railway is a railway of prosperity. It will inject vitality into the development of emerging industries in Laos, such as tourism, commercial real estate, new energy and enterprise digitization, which will bring more hope and prosperity to the local people.

Reading Check

1. What's the state strategy of Laos?

A. To carry out the BRI in all ways.

B. To develop high speed railways on its own.

C. To connect with the outside world by railway.

D. To introduce railway technologies from China.

2. The China-Laos Railway cuts down the travelling time from Vientiane to China by______.

A. about three hours B. less than five hours

C. over ten hours D. more than nine hours

3. What's Laos's attitude to the BRI?

A. Worried. B. Supportive.

C. Doubtful. D. Uninterested.

4. What information can we get about the China-Laos Railway?

A. The larger section of it is in Laos.

B. All of its constructors come from China.

C. It is mainly made up of tunnels and bridges.

D. It's designed mainly for tourism between China and Laos.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences in the text

1. It is also expected to realize direct transportation and same-day access from Vientiane to Kunming, bringing great convenience to the people of China and Laos and everyone along the route. 它还有望实现昆明和万象（老挝首都）之间当日直达，这将给中老人民和沿线居民带来极大的便利。

【点石成金】这是一个简单句，其中It作形式主语，真正的主语是后面的动词不定式，bringing在句子中作状语，表结果。

2. It will inject vitality into the development of emerging industries in Laos, such as tourism, commercial real estate, new energy and enterprise digitization, which will bring more hope and prosperity to the local people. 这条铁路将给老挝的旅游、 商业房地产、新能源和企业数字化等新兴产业注入活力，为当地人民带来更多希望和繁荣。

【点石成金】这是一个主从复合句，which引导非限制性定语从句，在从句中作主语，which指代前面的整个主句。

Ⅱ. Text-centered chunks

transform v. 转变

land-linked adj. 与陆路相连的

stretch v. 伸展；延伸

shorten v. 缩短

abundant adj. 丰富的；充裕的

brave v. 勇敢地面对

forge v. 锻造

foundation n. 基础；根据

inject v. 注射；注入