p. 231 Britain’s merchant navy ldom grabs the headlines the days; it is almost a forgotten industry. Yet shipping is the esntial lifeline for the nation’s economy. Ninety-nine percent of our trade in and out of the country goes by ship — and over half of it in British ships. Shipping is also a significant British success story. It earns over ￡1000 million a year in foreign exchange earnings: without our merchant fleet, the balance of payments would be permanently in deficit, despite North Sea oil. But, today this vital British industry is more in peril than ever before. On almost all the major a routes of the world, the British fleet risks being elbowed out by stiff foreign competition. The threat comes from two main directions: from the Russians and the Eastern bloc countries who are now in the middle of a massive expansion of their merchant navies, and carving their way into the international shipping trade by verely undercutting Western shipping companies; and from the merchant fleets of the developing nations, who are bent on taking over the lion's share of the trade between Europe and Africa, Asia and the Far East -- routes in which Britain has a big stake. Today, the British fleet no longer dominates the high as: our share of the world's merchant fleet has fallen from 40 per cent to around eight per cent. But, in terms of tonnage, the British merchant navy has continued to expand, it can now carry over two-thirds more than it could in 1914, and, almost alone among our traditional industries, shipping has remained a major success story. Unlike the rest of British industry, ship-owners invested big. In the early 1960s, the shipping companies cashed in on government grants and tax concessions. Between 1966 and 1976, British shipping lines invested at a rate of over ￡1 million a day. By the early 1970s, it emed that, somewhere in the world, a new British ship was being launched every week. The result is that Britain has a very modern fleet: the average age of our merchant ships is only six years, and over half the fleet is under five years old. For some time now, British shipping managers have stayed ahead of the competition by investing in the most sophisticated ships. The other major factor which has played a key role in the dominance of the British merchant navy is an institution invented by the British well over 100 years ago: the "conference". In the middle of the 19th century, competition between sailing-ships and steamships became cutthroat, and price cutting ruined many long-established companies. So the ship owners got together to establish a more ttled system, and they t up a system of price fixing. In other words, every possible type of cargo had a price, which all owners agreed to charge. It was, in fact, a cartel, though the British ship owners gave it the more dignified name of a "conference". The system has certainly stood the test of time. Today, there are about 300 conferences governing the trade-routes of the world, and the British still play a major role. By reducing competition, shipping conferences have taken some of the risk out of the dodgy business of moving goods by a. They make it harder, perhaps, to make a big killing in good times, becau you have to share the trade with other conference members. But they make it easier to weather the bad times, becau there is no mad, competitive scramble for the available trade. 孩子们的英文By the early 1970s, bad times were just around the corner. The world shipbuilding boom reached its peak in 1973, but that was the year of the Arab-Israeli war, which was followed rapidly by the quadrupling of oil prices. By 1974, the industrialid world had begun its slide into the worst depression since the 1980s, and the shipping industry had entered its long years of crisis. The first to be affected were the oil-tanker fleets. As oil demand was cut back, charter rates plummeted, and the estuaries of the world became jammed with the steadily increasing numbers of mothball tankers. Norway and Greece suffered most. British ship owners had not become so involved in the tanker boom in the first place, so they were not so badly affected. By 1976, the slump had begun to bite into the bulk carrier trade. Bulk carriers are ships that carry dry cargo of one particular kind, such as sugar, coal or wheat, with iron ore being by far the most important. But with the world steel industry deep in the doldrums, who needed iron ore carriers? With its big bulk-carrier fleet, the British shipping industry now began to feel the pinch. | Britannia ( n.) [poetic] Great Britain [诗]大不列颠 rue ( v.) repent of；regret having entered into懊悔；抱憾 Britannia Rues the Waves is a parody of Britain's proud boast, "Britannia Rules the Waves", a song much sung and played in the British Navy. industry ①Commercial production and sale of goods.产业，工业：商业性生产和货物销售②A specific branch of manufacture and trade 行业,制造业或商业的分支 success story an account of the achievement of success by someone or some enterpri; a person or thing that is very successful foreign exchange ①Transaction of international monetary business, as between governments or business of different countries.国际汇兑：各国政府或商行间的国际金融业务交易②Negotiable bills drawn in one country to be paid in another country.外汇 deficit ( n.) the amount by which a sum of money is less than the required amount亏损；赤字 peril ( n.) exposure to harm or injury；danger (严重的)危险；冒险 bloc a group of countries in special alliance undercut (v．) ll at lower prices or work at lower wages than比以别人低的价格出售 be bent on (doing) sth． be determined on 决心 the lion's share the largest or best part of sth．when it is divided最大最好的一份 stake a share or an interest in an enterpri 股份：指企业的股份 high as The open waters of an ocean beyond the limits of the territorial jurisdiction of a country 公海：一国领土管辖权以外的海洋的公共水域 tonnage ( n.) the total amount of shipping of a country or port，calculated in tons (一国或一港口的)船舶总吨数 cash in on sth take advantage of or profit from sth．获得利益或利润 tax concessions a right or privilege granted by the government to be tax exempt（免除） launch To put (a boat) into the water in readiness for u. 下水：使（船）下水以备使用 institution An established organization or foundation, especially one dedicated to education, public rvice, or culture. 机构,组织或基金，特别是指为教育，公共服务或文化的目的而设立的机构 sailing ship large wind-powered vesl cartel [kɑ:'tel] ( n.) an association of industrialists，business firms. etc．for establishing a national or international monopoly by price fixing 卡特尔，同业联盟 dodgy ( adj.) unstable, unreliable不可靠的：不稳定的 scramble ( n.) rough struggle；a disorderly struggle or rush争夺，抢夺 quadruple ['kwɔdrupl] ( v.) make or become four times as much or as many；multiply by four (使)成四倍 depression a protracted period in which business activity is far below normal and the pessimism of business and consumers is great. charter The hiring of an aircraft, a vesl, or other vehicle 包租，包船，包机：出租飞机、轮船或其他交通工具 plummet ( v.) drop drastically骤然跌落 estuary ['estjuəri] ( n.) the wide part of a river where it nears the a (江河入海的)河口 mothball ( n.) ① small ball of chemical pesticide ud when storing clothing樟脑丸②the state of being stored，or kept in existence but not ud封存保藏 A tank ship, often referred to as a tanker, is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. slump ( n.) a decline in business activity，price，etc．(物价等)暴跌；(市场等)萧条 Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Bulk cargos are classified as liquid or dry. dry cargo commodities that are not liquids doldrums ['dɔldrəmz] ( n.) low spirits；dull，gloomy feeling情绪低落，意志消沉；忧郁 pinch ( n.) a painful，difficult circumstance困苦的处境，贫困的境地 | |
p. 234 Even though the slump spread fast into most shipping ctors, the British fleet was still a long way from bankruptcy. The one area which has weathered the economic storms best is that controlled by the conferences: the scheduled freight-liner rvices -- and that is where Britain's fleet is strongly entrenched. Liner-freight vesls offer people who want to nd goods by a a regular, scheduled shipping rvice; they follow agreed routes, or‘lines’, and call at ports on agreed dates. For example, if I want to nd a shipment of spare tractor parts from Taiwan to Bangkok, all I have to do is contact the Far East Freight Conference, and that will be able to tell me when the next liner ship will be calling at Taiwan, the exact date on which it will get to Bangkok, and the going freight rate. It is an ideal 'parcel' rvice for people with cargoes that are not big enough to make it worth chartering a whole ship. It is also a plus for the ship owners not to be dependent on only one customer. Liner ships carry all sorts of different cargoes -- mainly finished manufactured goods -- so, if there is a slump in one particular industry, provided there is still buoyancy in other industries, the liner fleets can still survive. That gives them a distinct advantage over oil tankers or bulk carriers, becau the latter are dependent on one or two basic raw materials. That is why Britain has remained relatively strong. Much of Britain's liner fleet rarely es a British port. Our ships are extensive cross-traders; that is, they carry goods between foreign countries. British companies are big, for example, on the Japan-to-Australia run, and on the growing trade routes between the Far East and the Middle East, around the Persian Gulf. Until recently, tho routes were highly profitable for the British companies, and a major source of foreign currency for Britain. They are also the routes on which the Third World and the Russians are out to make the biggest inroads. Most emerging countries in the Third World are out to carry a bigger share of their trade in their own ships. Developing countries regard a merchant navy as something of a status symbol -- the next thing to go for after a national airline. Singapore has expanded their fleet by 6000 percent in the last 15 years, India by 400 percent. The challenge from the Third World has always been foreen by our shipping companies. P & O, for example, while still out to increa the total freight it carries, is planning for a gradual reduction in its percentage share of the trade with the new shipping powers of the Third World. But P & O has no intention of throwing in the towel. The key tactic behind its strategy of holding on to the richest slice of the trade has been to move up-market -- to go where the Third World cannot follow: into high-technology investment. Containers, for example, were an American invention, but it was British ship owners who put up the money to pioneer the international deep-a container rvice. Containers save time, becau the loading is done in the factory or warehou, rather than on the dockside, and they are very cure against theft; except for a code number on the outside, there is no indication of what is inside the box. To cash in on the container revolution, you need a sophisticated system of roads and railways, something that most Third World countries do not have: And container ships are expensive, around ￡50 million each. P & O's high-technology, high-investment strategy, however, is far from being the whole answer to the Third World threat. The developing countries are not out to compete with Western fleets by commercial means; they want to impo a t of rules which will guarantee them a major slice of the shipping trade. This demand has found official expression in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD. The UNCTAD liner code lays down that between two trading partners, 80 per cent of the freight should be split equally between their respective merchant fleets. That leaves only 20 per cent to go into the numerous cross-traders, all fighting for a share, and it is on the cross-trades that British liner companies earn 40 per cent of their revenue. Not enough countries have ratified the UNCTAD code yet to bring it into force. But if it does become universal, it could strike a vere blow to Britain's liner trade. The Iron Curtain countries reprent an even greater and more organid threat to the future of Britain's liner ships, and it is a threat that is much more difficult to counter. Russia has expanded its cargo-liner fleet far faster than the growth in either its own trade or world trade would justify. Today, it has the largest liner fleet in the world and another one million tons should come into rvice before 1980. And with its policy of excessively low freight rates, the Russian merchant navy has already made major inroads into Western trade. Russia now carries 95 per cent of its a-borne trade with the EEC in its own ships. More important, it is biting deeply into the major cross-trading routes of the world. Eastern bloc countries -- Russia, with Poland and East Germany -- have already captured 20 per cent of the cargo traffic on the busy a-lanes of the North Atlantic, almost 25 per cent of the trade between Europe and South America and just about the same percentage of the trade between Europe and East Africa. | entrench [in'trentʃ] ( v．) establish curely 确保(地位等) going adj. Current; prevailing 现行的；流行的 plus a favorable condition or factor 有利的情况或因素 buoyancy ( n.) the property (as of price or business activity) of maintaining a satisfactory high level (物价)上涨的趋向；(生意)兴盛的趋向 be out to attempt to inroad (usu．pl．) injurious intrusion on or into (通常为复数)损害，侵蚀 something of To some extent 在某种程度上 go for Informal To have a special liking for 爱好：对…特别喜欢, 努力获取 Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, a British shipping company founded in 1837 throw in the towel admit that one is defeated承认失败，认输 tactic an expedient (权宜之计) for achieving a goal; a maneuver.战术：为达到一个目标所采取的一项应急措施；一种策略 strategy science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war. 战略：在和平或战争时期尽可能有效地利用一国的全部力量去实施核准的计划的科学与艺术 container ship a cargo vesl specially designed and built for the carriage of cargo prepacked in containers. UNCTAD ['ʌnktæd] United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, t up in 1964. UNCTAD is concerned with the fundamental problems affecting the trade of developing countries. It has its headquarters in Geneva. 联合国贸易及发展会议 revenue ['revinju:] n. the entire amount of income before any deductions are made总收入; 财政收入, 税收 ratify v. approve and express asnt 批准, 认可 liner An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one aport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological boundary dividing Europe into two parate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On either side of the Iron Curtain, states developed their own international economic and military alliances: 柏林墙 EEC European Economic Community. | |
p.237 How can the Russians afford to undercut by up to 40 percent? Well, Soviet ships are not necessarily out to make a profit, in our n of the word. The name of the game, for Russian ships, is hard currency. The Soviet Union is becoming more dependent on Western imports -- from grain to technology -- but the West will not accept roubles in payment. So Russia needs hard currencies, like the dollar, the mark or the yen, even sterling, to pay for its imports. It is the currencies Russian ships earn as cross-traders. It does not matter very much if they are operating at a loss; that can be made up by the Soviet government in roubles. But there is more to it than that for the Russians. The Soviet mercantile marine obviously acts as a support to the Soviet navy, very much as Western fleets ud to do. But there are important differences. The Soviet merchant fleet, which has now been almost 20 years in growing, has developed the kinds of ships which would certainly expand the Soviet reach well beyond its perimeters. For example, much of the heavy equipment for the Cubans and Angolans was brought in Soviet merchant ships. So this mercantile marine capability is certainly a great advance in the Soviet ability to project their power at some distance from their own frontiers. And this is also part of a general Soviet hydrographic policy to map the oceans of the world, to get to know the ports and, above all, to deepen contacts with the states with whom the Russians are developing clo trading ties. 电脑怎么下载图片 How can Western ship owners react to undercutting of 40 per cent that would drive them out of business if they did the same? There is a limit, of cour, to what any British government can do on its own. Shipping is an esntially international business, and Britain can only counter the challenges of the developing world and the Russians at an international level. But whom could we count on for support? The EEC is so divided about shipping that it is almost powerless to act. Take the challenge of the developing world. The French do not mind the UNCTAD code on liner shipping becau it would help them to increa their share of the liner trade; the same is true for the Germans and the Belgians. So Britain cannot rely on concerted EEC action on that issue. As far as the Russians are concerned, Britain, along with West Germany and Denmark, has been calling for a coordinated respon; the monitoring of Russian ship movements and restrictions on the number of Russian ships allowed to call at EEC ports. But, last June, the French, becau of their Russian ties, blocked plans along the lines. It will be November before the question is considered again. British ship owners are so far happy with the strength of the British government attempts to force the EEC into action. They believe that the Trade Department, which looks after shipping, understands their problems. But they are far less sure about other government ministers, especially tho in the powerful Industry Department, which overes shipbuilding. Ship owners fear that saving jobs in Britain's ailing shipyards comes well before saving its merchant fleet. British shipyards are currently churning out 24 vesls for Poland. The Poles were lured to Britain by the gift of a￡28 million subsidy and the promi that British shipbuilders would rai all the credit; so while our shipping fleet is under attack from communist ships, our government is using British taxpayers' money to cut their shipbuilding costs. We are doing the same for developing countries' fleets. India is now a major Third World shipping power, yet Britain is to build six ships for the Indians -- for nothing. In the end, British companies could be driven out of shipping altogether. Some, such as P & O, have already moved into other fields, from hou building to oil. Smaller shipping lines do not have the resources to diversify. They face extinction. And when they go, so does a huge slice of the few traditional industries worth keeping. (from The Listener, August, 1978) | up to as many as name of the game n. Slang The esntial or indispensable part or quality necessary for success of an activity or the fulfillment of a goal 事情的要点：为了某项活动或事业的成功基本的或必需的部分或特性 hard currency n. 硬通货（货币） rouble ( n.) the monetary of the Soviet Union卢布(苏联货币单位) 实践作业是什么意思sterling ( n.) British money英国货币 mercantile ['mə:kəntail] ( adj. ) of merchants or trade；commercial商人的；贸易的；商业的 perimeter [pə'rimitə] ( n.) the outer boundary of a figure or area；circumference周边；周围 hydrographic [.haidrəu'græfik] ( adj.) of the study，description，and mapping of oceans，lakes，and rivers 水文学的,水文地理学的 on one’s own adv. 独自地, 独立地, 主动地 concerted [kən'sə:tid] Planned or accomplished together 共同计划或完成的We made a concerted effort to solve the problem.我们一起努力解决了这个问题 coordinate v. bring into common action 协调, 整合; 使一致 block To stop or impede the passage of or movement through; obstruct妨碍，阻止；阻碍 Department A principal administrative division of a government 政府部门：政府主要的行政部门 shipyard A yard where ships are built or repaired船坞,建造或修理船只的工场, 造船厂；修船厂 ailing (adj.) in poor health；sickly患病的 churn out produce a large quantity of sth．; produce in quantity without quality 大量生产出；大量地粗制滥造 subsidy monetary assistance granted by a government to a person or group in support of an enterpri regarded as being in the public interest. 补助金：政府给予个人或团体被看作是有益于公众的事业的津贴 diversify v. To spread out activities or investments, especially in business. 多样化：尤指在商业中从事多种活动或投资 | |
NOTES 1) Britannia Rues the Waves: This is a parody of Britain's proud boast, "Britannia Rules the Waves". "Rule, Britannia" is a famous naval song much sung and played in the British Navy from the date of its first performance in 1740 to the prent day, and generally recognized today as the official march of the Royal Navy. It was written by James Thomson and t to music by Dr. Thomas Arne (1740). The song runs like this: When Britain first, at Heaven's command, Aro from out the azure main, This was the charter of her land, And guardian angels sang the strain: Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rules the waves! Britons never shall be slaves. The author means that today, instead of ruling the waves, Britain is sorry that it has lost its dominance on the high as. 2) Andrew Neil: writing on industrial and labour affairs for the ‘Economist' 3) North Sea Oil: oil produced from the British ctor of the Continental Shelf under the North Sea. Oil was first discovered under the bed of the North Sea in 1970 and production began in 1975. 4) tax concessions: a right or privilege granted by the government to be tax exempt 5) depression: a protracted period in which business activity is far below normal and the pessimism of business and consumers is great. It is characterized by a sharp curtailment of production, little capital investment, a contraction of credit, mass unemployment and low employment, and a very high rate of business failures. 6) doldrums: the belt of calm which lies inside the trade winds of the northern and southern hemisphere. This area, which lies clo to the equator except in the western Pacific where it is south of the equator, had great significance during tho years when the trade of the world was carried by sailing ships. The term is also ud to signify a state of depression or stagnation, an analogy of the general depression of the crews of ships lying motionless while in the areas of the doldrums, unable to find wind to fill their sails. 7) dry cargo: commodities that are not liquids 8) liner: a ship belonging to a shipping company which carries pasngers on scheduled routes. A cargo liner is a cargo-carrying vesl with accommodation for a few pasngers. 9) P & O: Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, founded in 1840, world-wide pasnger rvice 10) container ship: a cargo vesl specially designed and built for the carriage of cargo prepacked in containers. With a standardized size of container, holding 18 tons of cargo, holds and deck spaces can be designed exactly to accommodate containers, leading to greater ea and efficiency in stowage and the eradication of much of the danger of the cargo shifting during heavy weather at a. 11) UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, t up as an organ of the UN General Asmbly by a resolution of December 1964. UNCTAD is concerned with the fundamental problems affecting the trade of developing countries. It has its headquarters in Geneva. 12) Iron Curtain: referring to the Soviet Union and the eastern European countries in the capitalist press, first ud by Churchill in his speech at Fulton, Missouri, 5 March 1946: "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. " 13) EEC: European Economic Community, established by treaty signed at Rome March 25, 1957, effective January 1, 1958. EEC headquarters are in Brusls and it compris a Council of Ministers, an executive Commission, and the Asmbly and Court of Justice | ||
词汇(Vocabulary) Britannia ( n.) :[poetic]Great Britain or the British Islands[诗]大不列颠；不列颠群岛 rue ( v.) :repent of；regret having entered into：wish nonexistent懊悔；抱憾 deficit ( n.) :the amount by which a sum of money is less than the required amount亏空，亏损；赤字 peril ( n.) :exposure to harm or injury；danger；jeopardy (严重的)危险；冒险 undercut (v．) :ll goods more cheaply or work for smaller wages than(sb．doing the same)；ll at lower prices or work at lower wages than比以别人低的价格出售(商品)；索价低于他人 tonnage ( n.) :the total amount of shipping of a country or port，calculated in tons(一国或一港口的)船舶总吨数 cartel ( n.) :an association of industrialists，business firms. etc．for establishing a national or international monopoly by price fixing，ownership of controlling stock，etc．[经]卡特尔 dodgy ( adj.) :[BrE] risky and possibly dangerous[英]冒险的；危险的 scramble ( n.) :rough struggle；a disorderly struggle or rush争夺，抢夺 quadruple ( v.) :make or become four times as much or as many；multiply by four(使)成四倍；以四乘 plummet ( v.) :drop drastically垂直落下；骤然跌落 estuary ( n.) :an inlet or arm of the a；the wide mouth of a river where the tide meets the current(江河人海的)河口，港湾 moth-ball ( n.) :①marble-sized balls of naphthalene. stored with clothes (esp．woolens)to repel moths；②the state of being stored，or kept in existence but not ud①樟脑丸；卫生球②封存；保藏 slump ( n.) :a decline in business activity，price，etc．(物价等)暴跌；(市场等)萧条 doldrums ( n.) :low spirits；dull，gloomy，listless feeling情绪低落，意志消沉；忧闷，忧郁，忧愁 pinch ( n.) :a painful，difficult，or straitened circumstance困苦的处境，贫困的境地 entrench ( v．) :establish curely(ud in passive voice or with a reflexive pronoun)确保(地位等)；确立(用于被动语态或与反身代词连用) inroad ( n.) :(usu．pl．)injurious intrusion on or into；influence of one party that undermines that of another(通常为复数)损害，侵蚀 buoyancy ( n.) :the property(as of price or business activity)of maintaining a satisfactory high level(物价)上涨的趋向；(生意)兴盛的趋向 rouble ( n.) :the monetary of the former Soviet Union卢布(前苏联货币单位) sterling ( n.) :British money英国货币 mercantile ( adj. ) :of or characteristic of merchants or trade；commercial商人的；贸易的；商业的 perimeter ( n.) :the outer boundary of a figure or area；circumference周；周边；周围 hydrographic ( adj.) :of the study，description，and mapping of oceans，lakes，and rivers，esp. with reference to their navigational and commercial us水文学的；水文测验学的；水文地理学的(尤指水道测量学) ailing (adj.) :in poor health；sickly患病的；病痛的 churn ( adj.) :(ud in churn out)produce a large quantity of sth．; produce in quantity without quality；produce in a regular flow without much thought or expression，usu．with some abundance(用于churn out) 大量生产出；大量地粗制滥造；大量写出 短语 (Expressions) be bent on(doing)sth．: be determined on(a coupe of action)决心采取(某行动) 例： He is bent on winning at all costs．他决心不惜一切去争取胜利。 the lion’s share of sth．: the largest or best part of sth．when it is divided最大或最好的一份 例： As usual，the lion’s share of the budget is for defen．预算中的最大一项照例是国防费用。 cash in (on sth．): take advantage of or profit from sth．获得利益或利润 例： The shops are cashing in on temporary shortages by raising prices．商店趁一时缺货而提高价格，从中获利。 feel the pinch: (begin to)suffer from a lack of sth．, esp. money (开始)感到缺乏(尤其钱) 例： The high rate of unemployment is making many families feel the pinch．失业率很高，许多家庭感到日子不好过了。 throw in the towel: admit that one is defeated承认失败，认输 例： They threw in the towel without a fight．他们不战而弃。 churn out: produce sth．in large amounts大量生产某物 例： She chums out romantic novels．她写了很多浪漫小说。 | ||
大不列颠望洋兴叹 安德鲁.尼尔 英国商船队的大名如今已很少见诸报纸上的大字标题，它已几乎被人们遗忘。然而，海运业今天依然是英国经济的主要命脉，我国的内外贸易商品99％要靠海洋运输——其中一大半是通过英国商船运输。 海运业在英国占有举足轻重的地位，是个兴旺发达的行业，它一年可赚取10亿多英镑的外汇。如果没有我们的商业船队，那么，就算有北海的石油，我国的收支还会是永远的赤字。然而，如今英国的这一至关重要的产业正面临着空前严重的危机。几乎在世界上所有的主要航海线上，英国商业船队都有被强劲的外国竞争对手挤开的危险。 威胁主要来自两个方面：其一是苏联及东欧集团各国，它们正大力扩充自己的商业船队，并通过大幅度压低价格同西方海运公司竞争的手段挤进国际海运界；其二是发展中国家的商船队，它们正努力要从对英国利害攸关的几条航线——欧洲至亚洲、亚洲至远东等航线上夺走大部分生意。 今天，大不列颠的商业船队再也不是海上霸王了：我们在世界商船总量中所占的比重已由原来的40％降到现在的大约8％。不过，就商业船只的总吨位而言，英国商业船队仍保持着继续扩展的势态，其装载总量比起1914年已增加2／3以上。在我国的传统产业258 中，几乎还只有海运业至今依然保持着常盛不衰的记录。 与英国其他各行业情形不同的是，海运业的船主们花了大本 钱投资。60年代初期，英国的海运公司利用政府资助和减税等有利条件大发其财。在1966至1976年间，英国海运业的投资率每天竟超 过100万英镑。到70年代初，几乎每个星期就有一艘新的英国船只 在世界的某个港口下水。结果是英国拥有了一支非常现代化的商 业船队：我们的船只的平均年龄只有6年，而且一半以上的船只投 入使用还不到五年。在目前这一阶段，英国海运业的经营者们在投 资建造最先进的船只这方面是走在了其他国家的竞争对手的前头。 英国商船队得以称雄的另一个重要因素是英国人100多年前首创的一种组织：“商船协会” 19世纪中叶，帆船与汽船之间的竞争愈演愈烈，已到了你死我 活的程度，由竞争所带来的降价使得许多历史悠久的船运公司纷纷破产。于是，船运公司老板们联合起来，共同建立起一种比较稳定的行业秩序，并订立了一个航运价格管理制度。换言之，每一种需要运载的货物都有一个由全体船主商定的统一价格。这实际上是一种卡特尔组织，但英国船主们却给它取了“船业协会”这么一个更文雅的名称。这种制度无疑是经受住了时间的考验。今天，世界上总共大约有300多家这样的船业协会控制着全球各地的贸易运输线．但英国的船业协会依然占有着主导地位。 通过缓和同行业的竞争，船业协会为海上运输这种风险性极大的行业减去了一部分风险。它也许会使其成员公司在贸易景气的时候难以暴发横财，因为你得与其他成员公司分享生意机会；但在生意萧条时期，协会却能帮助其成员公司比较顺利地渡过难关，因为在现有的生意范围内不存在疯狂的、不择手段的倾轧。 70年代初期，贸易萧条时期已经快要到来。世界造船业的兴盛期在1973年达到顶峰，但就在这一年爆发了阿以战争，紧接着石油价格暴涨了4倍。到1974年，世界各工业化国家开始进入30年代以来最严重的一次经济大萧条时期，海运业也随之陷人了长期的危机之中 在危机中首当其冲的是运油船只。由于石油需求量减少，油船包租率直线下降，于是，闲置不用的油轮越来越多，塞满了世界各地的港口。受害最严重者属挪威和希腊。英国海运公司老板们起初在世界油轮发展高潮时期就没有盲目地陷身其中跟着发展油轮业，因此，他们所受的影响还不是那么严重。到1976年，经济萧条已开始影响到驳船的生意了。驳船是指装运某种干货，如糖、煤或小麦等的船只，不过最主要的还是装运铁矿。可是，世界钢铁工业已陷于严重萧条状态，谁还需要运铁矿的船只呢?拥有大量驳船的英国海运界现在开始感受到危机的影响了。 尽管危机迅速蔓延到海运业的大多数部门，英国商船队还远未到达破产的境地。在克服这次经济危机中表现得最为出色的部门是由船业协会控制着的定期货轮运输业务——这也是英国商船队把守得最坚固的一块阵地。 货运班轮为那些需要由海上运输货物的人们提供定期的货运服务。它们沿预定的航线航行，按约定好的日期抵达各港口。比方说，我若想将一批拖拉机配件从台湾运往曼谷的话，我只需与远东货船协会取得联系，他们就会告诉我最近一趟班轮何时到达台湾，告诉我其抵达曼谷的确切日期，以及现行的货运价格。对于那些需要运货，但货物又不多，不值得包租一整条船的人们来说，这是一种理想的“零担运输”业务。 不单依赖于某一个主顾，这对船业公司来说也是一个有利因素。货运班轮载运各种不同的货物——主要是工业制成品——因此，即使某个行业出现萧条，只要其他行业还有活力，货运班轮便依然可以维持下去。这就使货运班轮与油轮和驳船比起来具有明显的优势，因为后者要依赖于一两种基本原料。这就是英国海运业历久不衰的根源所在。 英国的定期班轮多半难得停靠英国港口。我们的商船是远洋国际商船，也就是说，它们往来于外国与外国之间运输货物。例如，在日本至澳大利亚航线上，在日益发展的远东与中东之间的贸易航线上，以及在波斯湾周围的贸易航线上，英国海运公司都包揽着大量的生意。直到最近，这些航线对英国海运公司来说还是非常有利可图的，也是英国赚取外汇的主要来源。然而，它们也正是第三世界国家和苏联千方百计极力想争夺的航线。 多数第三世界的新兴国家都在努力提高用本国商船运载货物的比例。发展中国家将商船队看成国家地位的象征——是仅次于国家航空事业的优先发展目标。在最近15年中，新加坡将自己的商船队扩大了60倍，印度也扩大了4倍。 我国的一些海运公司早就预见到了来自第三世界的挑战。例如，东方轮船运输公司在继续致力于扩大其货运总量的同时，正计划逐步削减其与第三世界新兴海运强国分享生意的比例。但是，该公司并不打算退出竞争，拱手认输。它为保住贸易上的这块最厚的肥肉所采取的主要策略是转向高层次市场——进入第三世界无法跟进的领域，即进行高技术投资。 例如，集装箱本是美国人的发明，但却是英国船主们投资首创了国际远洋集装箱海运业务。集装箱运输节省时间，因为装货作业在工厂或仓库里即可完成而不必在码头上完成。集装箱运输也非常安全可靠，有利于防盗；除箱体外面的编号外，集装箱上没有任何表明箱内所装是何货物的标记。要有效地利用集装箱这一技术革命的成果，必须拥有可与之配套的先进的公路和铁路运输系统，而这是大多数第三世界国家所不具备的条件。此外，集装箱货船造价高昂，每艘船大约为5 000万英镑。 东方轮船运输公司的高技术、高投资战略远远不能完全解除第三世界的威胁。发展中国家并不想通过商业途径同西方船队竞争，他们希望强制实行一套相关的法规来保证他们在海运贸易中占有可观的份额。这一要求已在联合国贸易和发展会议上正式提出。根据该组织制订的海运法规，两个贸易伙伴之间的贸易货物的80 9／6应均分给双方国家的商船队来运输。这样便只剩下20％的生意给那无数的国际远洋货轮去争抢了，而英国各航运公司总收入的40 9／6要从这些国际贸易中赚取。联合国贸易和发展会议的这一规定目前尚未生效，因为尚无足够数量的国家对它予以正式承认。可是，一旦这一规定得到各国普遍承认，那对于英国的海运业将是一个沉重打击。 铁幕后的国家对英国商船的前途构成更大更有组织的威胁，而且也是更难应付的威胁。 俄国航海货船数量发展的速度之快大大超出了其本国贸易和世界贸易发展的需要。今天，它已经拥有世界上最大的商船队，而且在1980年以前，还将有百万吨新的船只投入使用。由于它采取超低运价政策，俄国商船队已经从西方国家手中抢去了不少的生意。 目前，俄国与欧洲经济共同体之间的海上贸易货物已有95％是用自己的船只载运的。更严重的是，它正深深地渗透进世界各主要国际贸易航线。东欧集团国家——俄国、波兰和东德——已夺得了北大西洋繁忙的海运航线上货运生意的20％，欧洲和南美之间的海运生意的将近25％。欧洲和东非之间的货运生意亦有同样的比例被他们夺取。 俄国人将货运价格降低了40％，他们怎么能承担如此大幅度削价所造成的损失呢?这是因为苏联的商船不一定要努力去赚取我们所理解的那种利润。对于俄国商船来说，最重要的目标是获取硬通货。苏联现在越来越离不开西方的进口货物——从粮食到技术——但西方国家不会接受以卢布付款。因此，俄国需要像美元、德国马克或日元，甚至包括英镑这样的硬通货来支付进口货物的货款。苏联商船打入国际贸易市场就是为了赚取这些硬通货。对他们来说，即使是赔本经营也无关紧要，他们的亏空可以由苏联政府用卢布来补偿。 但苏联的目的还不止于此。苏联的商船队显然还充当着其海军的后备军的角色，这有点类似于从前的西方商船队，但两者之间又存在着重大的差别。苏联商船队在经过近20年来的发展壮大后现已拥有各种船只，能使苏联将其势力扩张到远远超出其国境线以外的地区。比如，提供给古巴和安哥拉的重型装备有许多就是由苏联商船运输的。因此，苏联商船队如今所具有的运输能力大大加强了苏联在本土以外进行远距离势力扩张的能力。 这也是苏联所执行的一项海洋地理勘测总体规划的一个组成部分，这个总体规划的内容包括勘测世界各大海洋，侦察世界各港口，而更重要的是，加深同那些与苏联有着密切的贸易关系的国家之间的联系。 如果西方船运公司也学苏联人那样削价40％，它们就得关门大吉。那么，面对苏联的这一做法，西方船主们能采取何种对策呢? 任何一届英国政府单靠自己的力量所能够发挥的作用当然都、-是有限的。海运业从本质上说来毕竟是一项国际性商务活动，英国也只有通过发动国际社会的参与来抵御第三世界和俄国方面的挑战。但我们能指望从哪儿获得支持呢?欧共体在海运问题上存在着严重分歧，几乎无力采取任何行动。就以发展中国家的挑战为例来说吧，法国人对于联合国贸易和发展会议有关海运方面的规定并不在意，因为这个规定可能还会有助于提高他们在海运生意中的分成比例。德国和比利时的情形也和法国一样。所以，英国不能指望欧共体在这个问题上采取一致的行动。在对待俄国方面，英国一直同西德和丹麦一道呼吁采取协调行动，监测俄国商船的动向，并限制停靠欧共体国家港口的俄国船只的数量。但在6月份，法国人却因其与俄国的特殊关系而阻碍这一计划的通过。而要到11月份，这一计划才能得到重新审议。 迄今为止，英国船主们对于英国政府在敦促欧共体采取行动方面所具有的影响力是感到满意的。他们相信主管海运事务的贸易部对于他们面临的困难是理解的，但对于政府的其他各部门，尤其是对于主管着造船业的很有实权的工业部的大臣们的态度，并无多大的信心。船主们担心这些大臣优先考虑的是拯救英国的奄奄一息的造船厂，而不是如何拯救英国的商船队。 英国的造船厂目前正为波兰制造24艘轮船。波兰人之所以倾向于英国是因为受到英国为他们提供2 800万英镑的资助款这一厚赠以及英国造船商将负责为他们筹集所有的贷款这一承诺的。所以，当我国商船队正受到共产党国家商船的威胁的同时，我们的政府却在用英国纳税人的钱来帮助他们降低造船成本。对于发展中国家的商船队，我们也在采取同样的做法。印度现在已经是第三世界的一个海运强国，但英国却准备无偿地为印度人打造六艘船只。 英国海运公司最终将有可能被完全挤出海运行业。有些海运公司，如东方远洋船运公司，业已转向从房屋建筑到石油开采等其他领域发展业务。而那些规模较小的海运公司却没有足够的财力来从事多样化经营，它们面临着破产的命运。一旦这些海运公司破产，英国有限的几个值得保留的传统产业的一大部分也会随之消亡。 | ||
EXERCISES Ⅰ.Give brief answers to the following questions, using your own words as much as possible: 1) Comment on the title of the article. What is the implied meaning? 2) Why does the author think shipping is a major success story? What are the reasons for the success? 3) What stiff foreign competition threatens the British fleet? 4) What is a “conference”? What role does it play? 5) Which ctors of the shipping industry were most affected by the depression starting from 1974? 6) Why could the freight liner rvices stand the slump better? 7) How are the Third World countries trying to get a big share of the international a-borne shipping trade? Do you think their demands just? 8) How are the British shipping companies trying to meet the challenge? Are they confident that they can counter the challenge successfully? 9) Why, according to the author, is the Soviet Union keeping the largest liner fleet in the world? 10) According to the author Britain is handicapped in her attempts to counter the challenges of the developing world and the Soviet Union at an international level. What are the handicaps or problems? Does this tell us anything about the capitalist world? Ⅱ.Paraphra: 1) carving their way into the international shipping trade by verely undercutting Western shipping companies 2) who are bent on taking over the lion's share of the trade 3) routes in which Britain has a big stake 4) They make it harder to make a big killing in good times 5) But they make it easier to weather the bad times 6) the estuaries of the world became jammed with the steadily increasing numbers of moth-ball tankers 7) Much of Britain's liner fleet rarely es a British port. 8) British companies are big on the Japan-to-Australia run. 9) Developing countries regard a merchant navy as something of a status symbol -- the next thing to go for after a national airline. 10) Russia has expanded its cargo-liner fleet far faster than the growth in either its own trade or world trade would justify. 11) has developed the kinds of ships which would certainly expand the Soviet reach well beyond its perimeters 12) And when they go, so does a huge slice of the few traditional industries worth keeping. Ⅲ. Translate the following into Chine: 1) But, today, this vital British industry is more in peril than ever before. On almost all the major a routes of the world, the British fleet risks being elbowed out by stiff foreign competition. 2) Ship owners fear that saving jobs in Britain' s ailing shipyards comes well before saving its merchant fleet. British shipyards are currently churning out 24 vesls for Poland ... so while our shipping fleet is under attack from communist ships, our government is using British taxpayers' money to cut their shipbuilding costs. 3)Smaller shipping lines do not have the resources to diversify. They face extinction. And when they go, so does a huge slice of the few traditional industries worth keeping. IV. The following words are initials or acronyms formed from the first letters of a ries of words. Write out the full forms for the following and put them into Chine: Models: 1) UNCTAD-- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,联合国贸易和发展会议 2) EEC -- European Economic Community, 欧洲经济共同体 1) NATO 2) 2) OAS 3) OAU 4) ASEAN 5) OPEC 6) SALT 7) UNESCO 8) M. I. T 9)BBC 10) V.I.P. 11) GMT 12) GNP 13) KGB 14) ICBM 15) radar 16) lar V. Group together terms associated with 1) the a and shipping 2) economy and trade Ⅵ.Replace the italicized words or expressions with idiomatic, colloquial expressions from the text: 1) Nowadays, happenings in that country are given prominence in the papers. ( ) 2) In many regions of the world, the old colonial powers were being pushed out by the late comers -- Germany and the United States. ( ) 3) The Saudis presd for a larger share of the profits made by the big American oil consortium in Saudi Arabia. ( ) 4) The company expects to get profit from the new oilfields.( ) 5) John D. Rockefeller made a great deal of money almost overnight in the great oil boom in California. ( ) 6) Nixon was considered a tough guy, having pasd through six political cris safely. ( ) 7) Many Western economists do not agree that another energy crisis will come in the near future. ( ) 8) The writer constantly felt the hardships caud by poverty in his late years. ( ) 9) Since British companies invested large sums of money in the scheduled liner-freight rvices, they did not suffer so much as Norway and Greece in the depression. ( ) 10) Some smaller bankers had to admit defeat in the cut-throat competition among banks. ( ) 11) It is a loss that can never be compensated. ( ) 12) Very often depression in one area of economy quickly affects other economic ctors. ( ) Ⅶ. Explain how the meaning of the following ntences is affected when the italicized words are replaced by the words in brackets. Pay attention to the shades of meaning of the words. 1) But, today, this vital British industry is more in peril than ever before. (danger) 2) In the early 1960s, the shipping companies cashed in on government grants and tax concessions. (loans) 3) For some time now, British shipping managers have stayed ahead of the competition by investing in the most sophisticated ships. (modern) 4) and price-cutting ruined many long-established companies (affected) 5) By 1974, the industrialid world had begun its slide into the worst depression since the 1930s (crisis) 6) so they were not so badly affected (influenced) 7) It is an ideal "parcel" rvice for people with cargoes that are not big enough to make it worth chartering a whole ship. (leasing) 8) Not enough countries have ratified the UNCTAD code yet to bring it into force. (pasd) 9) Containers, for example, were an American invention. (discovery) 10) So this mercantile marine capability is certainly a great advance in the Soviet ability to project their power at some distance from their own frontiers. (ability) (capability) Ⅷ. For each of the following, give another word or expression of similar meaning from the text: 1) merchant 2) navy 3) esntial 4) vesl 5) major 6) cargo 7) depression 8) expand 9)routes 10)advantage 11)to elbow out 12)concerted Ⅸ．Make ntences with the following words or expressions．Using them figuratively： 1)lifeline 2)to carve one’s way 3)to bite into 4)to cash in on 5)to throw in the towel 6)to elbow sb．out 7)to be around the corner 8)to weather X．Translate the following into English(using the following words or expressions：at a rate of，lifeline，under attack，to reprent，to bring into force，to be bent on，to put up，to stand the test of，by far，to be out to do…，a long way from，to put into rvice，to weather，to undercut)： 1)石油是许多中东国家国民经济的主要命脉。 2)第三世界国家决心独立地发展自己的工业。 3)一些西方国家担心产油国会用削价的办法把他们的生意挤垮。 4)英国政府答应提供解决失业问题所急需的钱。 5)沙特阿拉伯已知石油储量在世界上是遥遥领先的。 6)中国人民经受了文化大革命的严峻考验。 7)这些老战士饱经了二次大战多次战役的考验。 8)我们离四个现代化目标还有很大的差距。 9)许多科技人员正努力学习外语，以便阅读第一手参考资料。 10)美国国会批准了这项条约，使它立即生效。 11)一座新的电报大楼即将完工并交付使用。形容鸟叫 12)伊拉克的扩张主义受到了世界各国报纸的抨击。 13)这个国家的军备开支每年以百分之四到百分之五的比率增长。 | key I . 1)Britain is sorry that she has lost her dominance on the high as. Britain was proud of being the lord of the a for a long time, but now she regrets that she no longer enjoys a naval supremacy. 2)Shipping is a major successful industry in Britain becau it makes over ￡l 000 million a year in foreign exchange earnings, which is of vital importance for the country. The reasons for the success are that the British ship-owners have put in big investment and that there has been a conference fixing prices to avoid cut-throat competition. 3)The stiff foreign competition comes from two main directions: from the Russians and the Eastern bloc countries who are massively expanding their merchant navies and doing their best to step into the international shipping trade by verely undercutting Western shipping companies, and from the merchant fleets of the developing countries, who are struggling to take over a big share of the trade between Europe and Africa, Asia and the Far East-routes over which Britain ud to have a total dominance. 4) A "conference" is in fact a cartel, who role is to fix prices for all the member nations and companies. 5)The oil-tanker fleets. 6)Becau freight liners carry all sorts of different cargoes, so if there is a slump in" one particular industry, they may depend on others and survive. 7) The Third World countries regard a merchant navy as a symbol of their national power and have expanded their fleets at an incredible rate. Yes, they are. 8)They turn to high-technology investment. Yes, they are for the time being. 9) On one hand, Russia wants to earn hard currencies, on the other, a deeper motive is that it desires to increa its sphere of influence in the world. 10)The major problems are the Soviet Union's massive expansion of its merchant navy and undercutting of Western shipping companies, and UNCTAD, which guarantees the developing countries a major slice of the shipping trade. The problems also show that the capitalist world is divided rather than united as one. Ⅱ. 1)cutting their way into the international shipping trade by charging much less freight rate than the Western shipping companies 2)who are determined to take the biggest share of the trade 3)Britain has important interests in the trade routes. 4) They make it more difficult to make a large amount of money when economic conditions are favorable. 5)But they make it easier to survive when economic conditions are unfavorable. 6)More and more oil tankers the world over lay idle. 7)Much of the fleet carries goods between foreign countries. 8)British companies are doing much business on the line between Japan and Australia. 9)Developing countries consider a merchant navy very important becau it is a sign of their economic power, so after they have t up a national airline, the next thing they would like to have is a merchant fleet. 10)Neither the growth in Russia's trade nor that in world trade would demand such a rapid development of Russia's cargo-liner fleet. 11)The ships would certainly make it possible for she Soviet Union to exert its influence on countries far away from its territory. 12)When the smaller shipping companies go bankrupt, a big part of the few old industries that have been doing well and earning huge profits will clo down. Ⅲ. See the translation of the text. IV. 1)NATO--North Atlantic Treaty Organization 北大西洋公约组织(北约) 2)OAS—Organization of American States美洲国家组织 3)OAU—Organization of African Unity非洲统一组织(非统) 垃圾吊 4)ASEAN—Association of Southeast Asian Nations东南亚国家联盟(东盟) 5)OPEC—Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries石油输出国组织 6)SALT—Strategic Arms Limitation Talks限制战略武器会谈 7)UNESCO—United Nations Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization联合国教科文组织 8)M．I．T．-Massachutts Institute of Technology麻省理工学院 9)BBC—British Broadcasting Corporation英国广播公司 10)V．I．P．--very important person重要人物 11)GMT—Greenwich mean time格林威治平均时 12)GNP—gross national product国民生产总值 13)KGB—Komite Gossudarstvennoi Bezopastnosti(Committee of State Security)国家安全委员会(克格勃)(苏联) 14)ICBM—inter-continental ballistic missile洲际弹道导弹 15)radar—radio detecting and ranging雷达 16)lar—light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation激光 V． 1)the a and shipping：merchant navy，merchant fleet, a routes, the high as，tonnage，ship-owners，shipping companies．merchant ships，shipping managers，sailing-ships．steam-ships，ship-owners，shipping conference, shipbuilding boom．shipping industry，oil-tanker fleet, charter rates，tankers，bulk carriers，dry cargo，bulk-carrier fleet．shipping ctors，freight-liner rvices，liner- freight vesls，agreed routes，ports, shipment, liner ship，freight rate，cargo-liner fleet，a-lanes，shipping fleet，shipping lines． 2)economy and trade：foreign exchange，balance of payments，in deficit，shipping trade，undercut，invest，grant． tax concessions，competition，oil prices，depression。crisis，demand，slump，bankruptcy，customer，manufactured goods，cross-traders，profitable，foreign currency． high-technology investment，investment，container rvice, warehou，a code number，trading partners。revenue，liner trade，aborne trade，profit，hard currency． imports，payment，trading ties，international business Ⅵ． 1)grab the headlines 2)were being elbowed out 3)the lion's share 4)cash in on 5)made a big killing 6)having weathered 7)is around the corner 8)the pinch of poverty 9)big l0)throw in the towel 11)made up 12)a slump Ⅶ． 1)peril常暗指近在眼前的危险，而且很可能造成损失或伤害；danger是常用词，表示危险，但不一定迫在眉睫或不可避免。 2)grants指补贴给的钱；loans指借的钱。 3)sophisticated指不仅现代而且复杂，含有高精尖端技术等意；modern按时间划分，包括现在的和刚刚过去的，时间跨度可能相当长，也可能很短。 4)ruin意为“毁灭”；affect仅指产生不良影响。 5)depression指(经济)萧条；crisis指(经济)危机，比前者严重得多。 6)influence常用以表示无形的力量，指看不见的影响；affect常指看得到的影响。刘贞坚 7)lea指租赁，租借；charter是包租。 8)ratify指正式批准；pass指一般的通过。 9)invention指首次发明的东西；discovery指原本存在，现被发现的东西。 10)ability 能力。指能力，常常指能把事情干好；capability指潜在的。 Ⅷ． 1)mercantile 2)fleet，shipping，marine 3)significant，key 4)ships 5)vital 6)freight 7)slump 8)grow, increa 9)lines 10)plus 11)to drive 12)coordinated Ⅸ． 1)Oil is considered the lifeline of industry． 泽雅 2)The Soviet Union has already carved its way into the trade with the African countries． 3)The recession is biting deeply into the auto industry. 4)They tried to cash in on the internal conflict of the country． 5)Admiral Jellicoe said that if something was not done promptly to stop the loss，the Allies would have to throw in the towel before the end of the year． 6)They were elbowed out 0f the competition. 7)Big trouble lies just around the corner． 8)Officials insist that the country will be able to weather the boycott． X． 1)Oil is the vital lifeline of the national economy in many Middle Eastern countries． 2)The Third World countries are bent on developing their industries independently． 3)Some Western countries were afraid that the oil—producing countries would drive them out of business by undercutting them． 4)The British government promid to put up the money needed to solve the problem 0f unemployment． 5)Saudi Arabia’s proved rerves of on are by far the greatest in the world． 6)The Chine people stood the test of the Cultural Revolution． 7)The veteran soldiers have all weathered the test of many battles during the Second World War. 8)We are still a long way from the goal of the four modernizations. 9) Many scientists and technicians are out to learn foreign languages so as to be able to read first-hand reference materials. 10) The U.S. Congress ratified the treaty, thus bringing it into force at once. 11) A new telegraph building will be completed and put into rvice soon. 12) Iraq's expansionism was under attack from the press all over the World. 13) The military expenditures of that country increa at a rate of 4% to 5% every year. | |
Ⅺ.Choo the right word from the list given below for each blank: tons were 保密自查报告 automobile of closure 1976 which wars determined after crude the following first to growth and all western Egypt a by East in coal switch surge shortest known thousand the Navy perhaps oil The________ships built as tankers________small, the Largest carrying________as much as five________tons of oil But________decision of the British________in 1912 to abandon ________as its boiler fuel________all ships and to________to oil, a policy________was rapidly followed by________other modern navies, led________the design and building________larger tankers of 10000 - 15000________. The immen________in popularity of the________between the two word________led to a large________in tanker tonnage during________ years, both in number________individual size. Size was________by the limitations impod________the Suez Canal, the________route between the big________producers in the Middle________and the market of________Europe. The________of the Suez Canal________the Anglo French attack on________in 1956 and again________the Arab Israeli War of________，forced the birth of________new generation of super-tankers，generally________as very large________carriers of 250 000—270 000 tons. Ⅻ．Topic for oral work Does China need a big merchant navy fleet to carry out her four modernizations successfully? What problems and difficulties will she have to overcome in the process of building such a fleet? XIII．Write a short composition on the topic within 400 words：The Shipping Industry in China | XI. first, were, perhaps, thousand, the, Navy, coal, in, switch, which, all, to, of, tons growth, automobile, wars, surge, the, and, determined, by, shortest, oil, East, western closure, following, Egypt, after, 1967, a, known, crude | |
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