CCTV9英语新闻：Silk Road Journey Xinjiang Ep.1: New railway to the west

In the sparsely¹ populated western borders of Xinjiang, a building boom is underway. Though it is only a construction zone right now, it will soon become the third railway link between Xinjiang and Central Asia. 

 

A vast "no man's land" is the border between China and Kazakhstan. Although it is largely empty and uninhabited today, it used to be one of the busiest sections of the ancient Silk Road, with camel caravans² and merchants passing it on their way across the continent.

 

Located at the heart of Eurasia, it is the farthest place from the sea. It has almost become a forgotten area in the time of maritime³ trade, but now, China is trying to revitalize these landlocked regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt. 

 

Once complete, the railway will link the border town of Tacheng with the oil-rich city of Karamay. Most importantly, it will measure just 300 kilometers long—1,500 kilometers shorter than the current available rail route. 

 

Although the project's completion is still years away, residents of nearby communities have already begun to imagine that future.

 

Wang Pengfei is a farmer in the border region. Fertile land and Xinjiang's unique climate have made his vegetables a welcome export to Kazakhstan. All that is missing is a way to get them there fast enough to meet demand. 

 

For now, Wang and his neighbors must send their vegetables to Central Asia through truck containers.

 

Yu Xinli is the largest vegetable collector and transporter in Tacheng. He says even though authorities have established a ‘green passage’ to ensure trade efficiency, each day is a race against time to get the vegetables to market before they lose their freshness. 

 

Vegetables are just one small part of what the trains will carry, and the Karamay-Tacheng Railway is one of the many railways now under construction.

 

But as they come together, the vast Gobi Desert, silent for centuries, is starting to feel the hustle⁴ and bustle⁵ of the ancient Silk Road gradually coming back. 

1 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

5 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。