Ships船
你手上這支手機、身上這件衣服，幾乎可以確定是坐船來的。全球九成的貿易靠海運。
CEFR A2閱讀約 5 分鐘 · 12 個單字 · 測驗卷 100 分
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The Container Port貨櫃港
12 個可以點的單字 · 可以隨時暫停、轉動場景
逐字稿（14 段）
- 1Welcome to a busy container port. Your phone and your clothes almost surely came here by ship.歡迎來到忙碌的貨櫃港。你手上的手機、身上的衣服，幾乎可以確定是坐船來的。
- 2The Port of Kaohsiung is Taiwan's biggest port.高雄港是台灣最大的港口。
- 3About ninety percent of world trade travels by sea.全球大約九成的貿易走海運。
- 4This giant ship is made of steel. Its hull is mostly hollow, full of air.這艘大船是鋼造的。它的船體大部分是中空的，裡面是空氣。
- 5A lump of steel sinks to the bottom.一塊鋼會沉到水底。
- 6But the same steel, shaped like a bowl, floats. The difference is shape.可是同樣的鋼，做成碗的形狀就會浮起來。差別在形狀。
- 7The whole hull, steel plus air, is lighter than the same volume of water. So the water holds it up.整個船體——鋼加上空氣——比同樣體積的水還輕，所以水把它托住。
- 8Before the 1960s, workers loaded every box and sack of cargo by hand.1960 年代以前，每一箱、每一袋貨物都靠工人手搬。
- 9Then came the steel container. One short container is one TEU. The largest ships carry over 24,000 TEU.後來有了鋼製貨櫃。一個標準短櫃就是一個 TEU，最大的船可以載超過 24,000 TEU。
- 10Now a crane moves a whole load in one lift, and shipping costs fell a lot.現在吊車一次就吊起一整批貨，運費因此大跌。
- 11An empty ship rides too high in the water. It becomes unstable.空船吃水太淺，浮得太高，就會變得不穩。
- 12So it pumps sea water into tanks low down. This keeps its balance.所以它把海水打進底部的水艙，維持平衡。
- 13The Suez and Panama Canals save weeks of sailing. When one is blocked, prices around the world change within days.蘇伊士運河和巴拿馬運河能省下好幾週的航程。其中一條堵住，全球物價幾天內就會有反應。
- 14Now it's your turn. Turn the port around and click on anything you see.現在換你了。轉動港口，點點看你看到的每一樣東西。
Why Steel Floats鋼鐵為什麼會浮
A lump of steel sinks, but a ship made of steel floats. The difference is shape.一塊鋼會沉，但用鋼造的船會浮。差別在形狀。
A ship is mostly hollow, so the whole hull — steel plus the air inside it — is lighter than the same volume of water.船大部分是中空的，所以整個船體——鋼加上裡面的空氣——比同樣體積的水還輕。
When a ship sits in water it pushes some water aside. The water pushes back with a force equal to the weight of the water moved, and that force holds the ship up.船坐進水裡時會把一些水推開。水以「被推開的水的重量」等大的力回推，這股力就把船托住。
Load the ship with cargo and it sinks lower, pushing more water aside, until the push balances again.船裝上貨物就會沉得更低，推開更多水，直到兩股力再度平衡為止。
How Shipping Works海運怎麼運作
- The container changed everything貨櫃改變了一切
- Before the 1960s, workers loaded every box and sack by hand. The standard steel container let a crane move a whole load in one lift, and shipping costs collapsed.1960 年代以前，每一箱每一袋都靠工人手搬。標準鋼製貨櫃讓吊車一次吊起一整批貨，運費因此暴跌。
- Everything is measured in TEU一切用 TEU 計算
- TEU means twenty-foot equivalent unit — one standard short container. The largest ships carry over 24,000 TEU.TEU 是「二十呎標準櫃當量」，也就是一個標準短櫃。最大的船可以載超過 24,000 TEU。
- Slow is efficient慢才省
- Container ships cruise at only about 30 to 40 km/h. Going faster burns disproportionately more fuel, so slow steaming saves a great deal.貨櫃輪的航速只有大約時速 30 至 40 公里。速度再快，油耗會不成比例地暴增，所以「慢速航行」能省下非常多。
- Ballast keeps it upright壓艙水維持穩定
- An empty ship rides too high and becomes unstable, so it pumps sea water into tanks low down to keep its balance.空船吃水太淺會不穩，所以會把海水打進底部的壓艙艙，維持平衡。
- Ports need depth港口要夠深
- A fully loaded giant ship needs more than 15 metres of water, which is why only some ports can take the largest vessels.滿載的巨輪需要 15 公尺以上的水深，這就是為什麼只有部分港口能接最大的船。
The Numbers數字
| Item 項目 | Figure 數值 |
|---|---|
| Share of world trade by sea 海運佔全球貿易 | About 90 % 約九成 |
| Largest container ships 最大貨櫃輪 | Over 24,000 TEU 超過 24,000 TEU |
| Typical cruising speed 一般航速 | About 30 – 40 km/h 約時速 30 至 40 公里 |
| Standard container length 標準貨櫃長度 | 20 ft or 40 ft 二十呎或四十呎 |
| Taiwan's biggest port 台灣最大港 | Port of Kaohsiung 高雄港 |
資料查證至 2025 年底
高雄港長期是全球排名前幾十大的貨櫃港，而台灣的長榮、陽明是世界知名的航運公司——這座島的經濟一直跟海運綁在一起。
Did You Know?你知道嗎？
- A large container ship's engine can be three storeys tall and is one of the largest engines ever built.大型貨櫃輪的引擎可以有三層樓高，是史上最大的引擎之一。
- The line painted on a ship's side shows how deep it may legally sit in the water. Different marks apply to fresh water and to different seasons.船身上漆的那條線標示它合法可以吃水多深。淡水和不同季節適用不同的標記。
- Because ships move so much cargo at once, sea freight produces far less carbon dioxide per tonne per kilometre than air freight.因為船一次運送的貨量極大，海運每公噸每公里排放的二氧化碳遠低於空運。
- The Suez and Panama Canals save weeks of sailing. When one is blocked, prices around the world move within days.蘇伊士運河和巴拿馬運河可以省下好幾週的航程。其中一條堵住，全球物價幾天內就會有反應。
Key Words單字表
float/floʊt/v.
浮
A steel ship can float.鋼造的船可以浮起來。
sink/sɪŋk/v.
下沉
A lump of steel sinks.一塊鋼會沉下去。
hull/hʌl/n.
船體
The hull is mostly hollow.船體大部分是中空的。
volume/ˈvɑːl.juːm/n.
體積
The same volume of water is heavier.同樣體積的水比較重。
cargo/ˈkɑːr.ɡoʊ/n.
貨物
The ship carries cargo.這艘船載運貨物。
container/kənˈteɪ.nɚ/n.
貨櫃
A crane lifts one container.吊車吊起一個貨櫃。
crane/kreɪn/n.
吊車
The crane loads the ship.吊車把貨裝上船。
trade/treɪd/n.
貿易
Ninety percent of trade goes by sea.九成的貿易走海運。
balance/ˈbæl.əns/n. / v.
平衡
Ballast keeps its balance.壓艙水維持它的平衡。
unstable/ʌnˈsteɪ.bəl/adj.
不穩的
An empty ship is unstable.空船不穩。
port/pɔːrt/n.
港口
Kaohsiung is Taiwan's biggest port.高雄是台灣最大的港口。
canal/kəˈnæl/n.
運河
The canal saves weeks of sailing.運河省下好幾週的航程。
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