集装箱是一种用于存储和运输货物的大型金属容器。它容积巨大，方便长途运输大批货物，让人们有机会接触到来自世界各地的商品，对贸易全球化做出了贡献。本文介绍集装箱的奇妙之处。

　　词汇：shipping 海运

　　Look at many of the items around your home and some will probably have been imported from abroad by ship. Moving goods around the world by sea is the easiest and most cost-effective way to do it. But what has made it more practical is the invention of the shipping container. They're not the most amazing thing to look at, but because of their design, and especially their universal size, it means they can be loaded and unloaded on to huge vessels² at any port that is big enough to accommodate them. The standardisation of these simple metal containers in the 1950s and 60s marked a turning point in world trade, driving down costs and ultimately leading to globalisation.

　　Inside these versatile³ metal boxes could be anything from nappies to cars, and they are transported on container ships that ply⁴ our seas and oceans. They have been described as 'the monsters of the seas' because of their huge size. The very biggest are almost half a kilometre long and are piled high with more than 20,000, 20-foot-long (6.06m) boxes. In fact, the world's largest, The Port of Rotterdam, has a capacity of 24,346 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) – an exact unit of measurement used to determine cargo⁵ capacity for container ships and terminals. With around 5,500 container ships globally, it's incredible to think about the amount of goods being moved around the world.

　　However, because we now rely so much on these global shipments of goods, there can be problems when things go wrong. In 2021, the Ever Given, loaded with 18,000 containers, got stuck in the Suez Canal – blocking an important trade route. Countless⁶ businesses were affected⁷ by the delay in receiving their goods. One shipping company, Maersk, said the "ripple⁸ effects on global capacity and equipment" were significant.

　　Despite the occasional problems, our demand for goods is increasing, and so the shipping container is here to stay. George Griffiths from S&P Global Platts told the BBC: "We're seeing a lot more of the ultra-large container ships being built… the proportion of new ships that are moving over 14,000 containers is staggering." Each container can have a lifespan of up to 25 years. And even when the effects of wind, waves and loading takes its toll⁹, some find a new lease of life as land-based storage units or even used as houses and hotels!

　　词汇表

　　imported 进口

　　goods 商品，货物

　　cost-effective 划算的

　　container 集装箱

　　universal 通用的，广泛适用的

　　vessel 船，大船

　　port 港口

　　world trade 世界贸易

　　globalisation 全球化

　　versatile 多功能的，多用途的

　　ply 定期往返（于）

　　cargo （轮船或飞机装载的）货物

　　terminal 码头

　　shipment 运输

　　trade route 贸易路线

　　ripple effect 连锁反应

　　staggering 惊人的，令人震惊的

　　take its toll 造成破坏

　　a new lease of life “重获新生”，使用寿命延长storage 储物，储藏

 

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