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

安徽太湖中学 周艳霞

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中国古代的四大发明造纸术、印刷术、指南针和火药为人类文明和进步做出了卓越的贡献。造纸术和印刷术为人类文明的传播、交流提供了一种便捷快速的媒介保障；指南针和火药则直接推动了大航海时代的到来和新航路的开辟。中国现代的四大发明高速铁路、支付宝、共享单车和网上购物，尽管有的不是在中国发明的，但它们在中国的发展速度比在地球上任何地方都要快！中国人正在用他们的智慧和创造力改变世界！

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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!

中国的历史是迷人的！我之所以对学习普通话感兴趣，是因为我首先对中国的历史和文化感兴趣。当我一开始研究古代中国的时候，我被如此丰富和令人惊讶的五千年的历史震惊了。有些人仍然不知道中国的发明史会传播到海外，永远改变世界。传统上，中国有公认的古代四大发明：造纸、火药、印刷和指南针。

今天，中国正在经历一个全新的技术时代。很明显，现代中国与古代中国有很大的不同！

最近，北京外国语大学丝绸之路研究所询问在中国的外国学生，他们希望在自己的国家看到哪些中国发明和技术。学生们经过投票选出了四大“中国现代发明”：高速铁路、支付宝、共享单车和网上购物。这四种技术可能并不都是在中国发明的，但它们在中国的发展速度比在地球上任何地方都要快！让我们来看看这些现代“发明”。

高速铁路

高铁或许不是中国发明的，但中国正在使其更快、更好、更深远。中国拥有22000英里的高速铁路，占世界总量的三分之二。高铁不仅是一种安全、方便的航空替代方式，也是一个观看中国乡村腾飞的好的方式。今天的中国拥有许多新的专利，这些专利正在推动高铁进入下一个发展阶段！

支付宝

支付宝是中国年轻人日常生活的一部分。在线支付服务创建于2006年。截至今日，在中国注册的用户超过了4亿，其中有423亿笔交易使用的是支付宝。它快速、方便，而且节省了使用信用卡或以现金付款的时间。中国人喜欢用它，这当然是外国人在离开中国的时候会想念的东西！

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!

共享单车

共享单车项目在欧洲的城市已经存在几十年了，但中国在改变用户如何获得自行车的方式方面取得了巨大进展，这使得中国的共享单车成为当今地球上最方便和使用最广泛的项目。

今年，中国最大的自行车共享公司摩拜单车扩展到华盛顿特区市场，它允许美国人在城市的任何地方都能使用自行车，用户可以用智能手机“解锁”自行车，并不受限制地将自行车从A点带到B点。如果华盛顿项目成功的话，我们肯定也会看到它扩展到美国的其他城市！

网上购物

虽然易趣和亚马逊在中国之外已经存在了几十年，但在网上购物方面，中国人比其他任何人更疯狂。中国是世界上增长最快的电子商务市场。电子商务行业在过去几年中迅速增长，包括快递和分销行业的激增。网络购物现象也支持了价值数十亿美元的快递行业的发展，成千上万的工人每天都在为中国消费者送货。经济学家认为中国电子商务市场是当今世界第一大消费市场，年增长25%！

Language study

1.我之所以对学习普通话感兴趣，是因为我首先对中国的历史和文化感兴趣。

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

【点石成金】why引导的是定语从句修饰reason；that引导的是表语从句。The reason why...is that...“……的原因是……”，可以看作是一个固定句式。故答案分别为why和that。

例句仿写

我们需要学习电脑的原因是电脑在我们的日常生活中越来越重要。

2.中国拥有22000英里的高速铁路，占世界总量的三分之二。

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

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。which引导的是非限制性定语从句，在定语从句中作主语。account for“说明（原因、理由等）;导致，引起;（在数量、比例上）占”。答案为which accounts for。

例句仿写

(1)我买了Sherlock Holmes这本书，它是我的同学向我推荐的。

(2)我们学校的女生占总人数的48%。

3.它允许美国人在城市的任何地方都能使用自行车，用户可以用智能手机“解锁”自行车，……

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

【点石成金】本句是一个简单句。主语是it，谓语是allows，with users being able to...是“with+宾语+宾语补足语”结构。由于作宾语补足语的动词和宾语是逻辑上的主谓关系，所以用动词ing形式。答案为being able to。

例句仿写

不一会儿，他们就来到一个两岸长着红花绿草的小河边。

4.虽然易趣和亚马逊在中国之外已经存在了几十年，但在网上购物方面，中国人比其他任何人更疯狂。

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

【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。Although引导的是让步状语从句；when it comes to...“当提到……；当谈到……”，是固定句式。答案为when it comes to。

例句仿写

谈到乐器，我最喜欢钢琴。