英中师生参观BBC集装箱 Chinese and British teachers and students visiting the container

英国诺福克（Norfolk）的Neatherd高中和上海南阳中学缔结了伙伴学校关系。本周，Neatherd高中的师生不远千里前往上海拜访他们的中国朋友。

两校师生在上海会面的同时，BBC集装箱正好抵达了上海港口。

英中两校学生借这个机会当起了小记者。他们在港口集装箱堆场参观了BBC集装箱，还采访了海运公司的主管和集装箱堆场的经理，听他们介绍全球贸易的相关知识。

BBC集装箱

集装箱被誉为是上个世纪十大发明之一。统一尺寸的集装箱转变了全球货物运输的面貌，使成本变得更低，所需时间变得更短。

为了深入、生动报道国际贸易和全球化，BBC推出了“BBC Box”项目，花费一年时间，透过全球定位系统追踪BBC集装箱，记录BBC集装箱的全球贸易旅途。

装满了苏格兰威士忌的BBC集装箱9月初从英国出发，运往出口目的地——中国。

集装箱一路上经过直布罗陀海峡、地中海、苏伊士运河、红海、印度洋、马六甲海峡和南海，最后抵达上海。

集装箱目前停放在上海的集装箱堆场，等候海关验货课税。通关后货物将由运输车送往代理商，然后再分批送到零售商店出售。

A group of British students went down to the docks in Shanghai to find out what globalisation is really about.

Neatherd High School in Norfolk, UK, is the “twinning” partner with Nanyang Middle School in Shanghai. This week, students from Neatherd High went to Shanghai to visit their friends at Nanyang.

The timing was perfect. They flew to Shanghai from Norfolk just as the container BBC Box completed its sea journey to Shanghai from Southampton.

Students from both schools went to the port and played at being reporters!

They not only checked out the Box, but also interviewed the sales manager from the shipping line and the manager of the container depot at the port.

The container is seen as one of the 10 greatest inventions of the last century. It revolutionised global shipping by lowering costs and reducing journey times.

BBC News is following a container, named BBC Box, around the world for a year to tell stories of globalisation and the world economy. The GPS system makes it possible to track and record its journey.

The Box was loaded with Scotch whisky and left the UK at the beginning of September, heading for China.

Its journey has taken it through the Gibraltar Straits, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Malacca Straits and the South China Sea before arriving at Shanghai.

The container is now at Shanghai's depot waiting for customs clearance. After that, the goods will be delivered to distribution agencies, and then to the shops!

学生见闻
Student's report

在采访中我们了解到，在这个特殊的集装箱内部，装有全球定位系统GPS，可以对海上旅途时刻监控，确保集装箱的安全和位置。

这个海上集装箱的“守护者”被安装在箱子的边缘部分，有一个抽屉那么大，紧紧固定。在集装箱外还镶有一张金属制成的小标签。

与此同时，我们也了解到在集装箱内部是可以装任何东西的，比如说从扬子江地区运来的中国黄酒、白酒，甚至连英国的威士忌也能运送。

而这些货物的价格基本上是看运输量的大小来预算，货物并不算昂贵。而且珍贵的货物一般不会放在集装箱里运输。当集装箱有任何破损时，有关人员会进行处理，对受损的地方及时修理。

如果遇到坏天气比如风暴时，船只航行会受到一定的影响，但是集装箱的结构和金属材料足够坚固，能够挺过整场暴风雨。

同时，为了减少环境污染，集装箱里面原本的木制地板换成了竹子制作的。

During the interview, we learned that a GPS device was fitted inside this special container to monitor its journey, location and to protect its safety.

This “Security Guard”, about the size of a drawer, was fixed tightly to the side of the Box. Outside the container, there was a metal label.

We also learned that you can load almost anything into container: Chinese liquor, rice wine from areas along the Yangtze River and whisky from the UK!

The cost of shipping also depends on the quantity. Goods are not particularly expensive. In fact, people don't usually ship their valuables in a container. If the container were damaged, the staff would carry out prompt repair.

Bad weather such as storms can affect the journey, but the structure of the container and the metal used to build it are strong enough for it to withstand storms.

Meanwhile, the original wooden floor inside the container has been replaced by a bamboo one in order to reduce damage to the environment.