Text A Territory of China
导 读
中国位于欧亚大陆东部，太平洋西岸。中国是亚非大河流域四大文明古国之一。中国的陆地面积约960万平方千米，仅次于俄罗斯、加拿大。中国地势西高东低，呈阶梯状下降，山地、高原和丘陵约占陆地面积的67％，盆地和平原约占陆地面积的33％。山脉多呈东西和东北—西南走向。海岸线以东以南的大陆架蕴藏着丰富的海底资源。
China is vast by any standards.Because of the size and diversity of the country,it is essential that great care be taken when making generalisations about any aspect of Chinese society.
The population of China,which was 582 million when the 1953 census was carried out (the first in the entire history of China that had any degree of credibility),has grown at a rate which is either impressive or alarming according to the observer’s point of view: it currently stands at more than 1.4 billion.This makes China the most populous nation on earth,a distinction it has held for decades,although India with a total population of about 1.3 billion is gradually catching up.It is instructive to compare figures of China’s population with those of other countries and regions.In 2005,the United Kingdom had an estimated population of 60.5 million,compared with the population of the Chinese province of Hubei which alone is over 60 million; the whole of Europe (East and West) is home to 728 million people who live in 6,500,000 square miles of land shared between twenty-seven separate nation-states; the United States has a total population of about 300 million.Population size is far from being the only determinant of a nation’s character and prospects for development and stability but it is a critical factor.
In common with all civilisations of great antiquity,China owes the earliest development of its agriculture and settlement to great rivers which run through its territory.The two best known,and by far the most important in the story of China’s development as a nation,are the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.
The source of the Yellow River,the Huanghe,is 14,000 feet high in the mountains of Qinghai Province close to the Kokonor: in the Mongolian language,Kokonor means “Blue Lake”,which is also what Qinghai means in Chinese.The Yellow River runs for over three thousand miles through northern China and into the Gulf of Bohai to the north of the promontory of Shandong Province.On its long journey to the ocean,the Yellow River describes a magnificent arc through the deserts and plains on China’s border with Mongolia and then bends sharply into the low-lying farmland of the eastern seaboard—farmland that the might of the river has been instrumental in creating.It is called the Yellow River because it carries yellow (more accurately,brown) silt from the mountains down to the plains.The silt is deposited to contribute to a fine-grained,easily worked loess soil that has enabled China’s farmers to till the land for centuries.
The waters of the Yellow River then irrigate this loess terrain.However,the silt that has been such a boon to rural China has also destroyed it periodically; the accumulation of silt deposits builds up over time and causes the river to burst its banks,flooding the farms and villages of the North China Plain and causing great loss of life as well as physical devastation and economic and social disruption.In one fateful year,1851,the spectacular intensity of the flooding forced the river to change its course.Before the inundation,it flowed into the ocean south of the Shandong Peninsula; afterwards it emerged to the north,at its present exit point.Not for nothing has the Yellow River been called “China’s sorrow”.
The river that the world knows as the Yangzi (Yangtze) is known in China as the Changjiang,which simply means “Long River”,and its total length is 6,280 kilometers.It flows from its source high on the Tibetan Plateau through spectacular gorges,passes through the very centre of China and spills out into the Yellow Sea just to the north of Shanghai.Its great breadth is as significant as its great length.For centuries it was impossible to bridge the torrent for a distance of hundreds of miles and,in many places,it is still necessary to use a ferry to cross from one bank to the other.The construction of the great bridge at Wuhan,which was completed in 1957,was proclaimed a major triumph for Chinese engineers and for the collective spirit of China.
Because of the difficulty that there has always been in crossing the Changjiang,the river was a major physical barrier and it is the natural boundary between northern and southern China—a separation which accounts in part for the pronounced cultural differences between the north and the south.The productive rice-growing areas of the south were traditionally known as Jiangnan (“south of the river”,that is to the south of the Changjiang).
Another important watercourse which is vital to the regional economy of south China is the Pearl River or Zhujiang.The Pearl River is China’s third longest and it is formed by the confluence of three smaller rivers: the Xi Jiang (West River),the Bei Jiang (North River),and the Dong Jiang (East River).The river and its tributaries flow through the provinces of Hunan,Jiangxi,Guizhou,Yunnan,Guangxi and Guangdong before emptying into the South China Sea in the great Pearl River Delta.
The Pearl River Delta is home to some of the most dynamic and enterprising urban economies of contemporary China,including the pioneering Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen,where the reform policies were first displayed to the outside world,and Zhuhai with its modern high-tech industries and the old iron and porcelain town of Foshan.It has become one of the economic boom centres and specializes in manufacturing,notably electronics and other consumer goods for the export market.
Notes
1.Wusuli（乌苏里）：a river in northeast Heilongjiang Province.Its waters come from rain （60％），snow （30％～35％） and subterranean springs.The river is known for its catastrophic floods.It freezes up in November and stays under the ice until April.The river teems with different kinds of fish.
2.Eurasia（欧亚大陆）：A continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia.
3.Kokonor（库库诺尔）：A saline lake situated in Qinghai Province.It is the largest lake in China.The names Qinghai and Kokonor both mean “Blue/Teal Sea/Lake” in Chinese and Mongolian.
4.Gulf of Bohai（渤海）：It is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of Northeastern and North China.It is approximately 78，000 km2 in area.
5.North China Plain（华北平原）：It is based on the deposits of the Yellow River and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia.The plain is bordered on the north by the Yanshan Mountains and on the west by the Taihang Mountains on the edge of the Shanxi （“western mountains”） plateau.To the south，it merges into the Yangtze Plain.From northeast to southeast，it fronts the Bohai Gulf，the highlands of Shandong Peninsula，and the Yellow Sea.The Yellow River flows through the middle of the plain into Bohai Gulf.
6.Tibetan Plateau（青藏高原）：A vast，elevated plateau in Central Asia.It covers most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai，in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan，southwestern Gansu，and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in India.It stretches approximately 1，000 kilometres north to south and 2，500 kilometres east to west.The average elevation is over 4，500 metres，and all 14 of the world’s 8，000 metres and higher peaks are found in the region.Sometimes called “the roof of the world”，it is the highest and biggest plateau，with an area of 2.5 million km2.
7.Three Gorges（三峡）：A scenic area along the Yangtze River.It spans from the Chongqing Municipality to Hubei Province in China.Although it is primarily famous for its scenery，the Three Gorges region is historically and culturally an important region in China.
8.Xi Jiang（西江）：The western tributary of the Pearl River in China.It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou，Guangxi.It then flows east through Guangdong，and enters the Pearl River Delta just east of the Lingyang Gorge in Zhaoqing.It is a commercial waterway of southern China，and links the delta cities to the interior.
9.Bei Jiang（北江）：The northern tributary of the Pearl River in northern Guangdong Province，southern China.
10.Dong Jiang（东江）：The eastern tributary of the Pearl River in Guangdong Province，southern China.It is a major source of water for Hong Kong.
11.Pearl River Delta（珠江三角洲）：Since economic liberalisation was adopted by the Chinese government in the late 1970s，the delta has become one of the leading economic regions and a major manufacturing center of China and the world.
12.Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen（深圳经济特区）：Established in May 1980，it is the first special economic zone in China.
13.Foshan（佛山市）：It’s a city in central Guangdong Province in southern China.
New Words and Expressions
1.subcontinent[，sʌb'kɔntinənt] n.次大陆
2.commonplace['kɔmənpleis] n.老生常谈；司空见惯的事；普通的东西
adj.平凡的；陈腐的
3.homogeneous[，hɔmə'dʒiːniəs，，həu-] adj.均匀的；［数］齐次的；同种的
4.semi-tropical adj.亚热带的
5.maritime['mæritaim] adj.海的；海事的；沿海的；海员的
6.magnitude['mæɡnitjuːd] n.大小；量级；［地震］震级；重要；光度
7.generalisation[，dʒenərəlai'zeiʃən，-li'z-] n.（英）一般化；归纳；普遍原理
8.impressive[im'presiv] adj.感人的；令人钦佩的；给人以深刻印象的
9.instructive[in'strʌktiv] adj.有益的；教育性的
10.estimated['estimetid] adj.估计的；预计的；估算的
11.determinant[di'təːminənt] adj.决定性的
n.决定因素
12.antiquity[æn'tikwəti] n.高龄；古物；古代的遗物
13.promontory['prɔməntəri] n.岬；海角；隆起；隆突
14.magnificent[mæɡ'nifisənt] adj.高尚的；壮丽的；华丽的；宏伟的
15.instrumental[，instru'mentəl，，instrə-] adj.作为手段的；有帮助的；起作用的
16.silt[silt] n.淤泥；泥沙；煤粉；残渣
17.loess['ləuis] n.［地质］黄土
18.irrigate['iriɡeit] vt.灌溉；冲洗；使清新
vi.灌溉；冲洗
19.terrain[te'rein，tə-，'terein] n.［地理］地形；地势；领域；地带
20.periodically[，piəri'ɔdikəli] adv.定期地；周期性地；偶尔；间歇
21.accumulation[ə，kjuːmju'leiʃən] n.积聚；累积；堆积物
22.deposit[di'pɔzit] n.沉淀物
23.devastation[，devə'steiʃən] n.毁坏；荒废
24.disruption[dis'rʌpʃən] n.破坏；毁坏；分裂；瓦解
25.spectacular[spek'tækjulə] adj.壮观的；惊人的；公开展示的
26.intensity[in'tensəti] n.强度；强烈
27.inundation[，inʌn'deiʃən] n.洪水；泛滥
28.spill[spil] vt.使溢出；使流出；使摔下
vi.溢出；流出；摔下；涌流
29.torrent['tɔrənt，'tɔː-] n.奔流；倾注；迸发；连续不断
30.ferry['feri] n.渡船；摆渡；渡口
31.triumph['traiəmf，-ʌmf] n.胜利；凯旋；欢欣
32.retain[ri'tein] vt.保持；雇；记住
33.hydroelectric[，haidrəui'lektrik] adj.水力发电的；水电治疗的
34.dam[dæm] n.［水利］水坝；障碍
35.colossal[kə'lɔsəl] adj.巨大的；异常的；非常的
36.submerge[səb'məːdʒ] vt.淹没；把……浸入；沉浸
vi.淹没；潜入水中；湮没
37.tributary['tribjutəri] n.支流；进贡国；附属国
38.dynamic[dai'næmik] adj.动态的；动力的；动力学的；有活力的
39.enterprising['entəpraiziŋ] adj.有事业心的；有进取心的；有魄力的；有胆量的
40.porcelain['pɔːsəlin，-lein] n.瓷；瓷器
adj.瓷制的；精美的
Exercises
I.Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1.Zhang Heng was an outstanding scientist in ancient China.
2.After spending many years observing the laws of the movement of the moon,the sun and the planets,he knew that the moon itself does not shine but only reflects the light from the sun.
3.He clearly explained why in winter days are short and nights are long while in summer days become longer and nights shorter.
4.He produced China’s first complete star chart which recorded 2,500 stars,including their brightness and their time of appearance and disappearance.
5.The traditional Chinese culture,both extensive and profound,starts far back and runs a long,long course.
II.Answer the following questions.
1.What does the term “Indian subcontinent” mean?
2.What influences Chinese history and the evolution of its political structures?
3.Which province has the border with the Russian Far East?
4.What is the population of China currently?
III.Choose the correct answer to each of the following items.
1.Which river is the border between China and Russia?
A.Wusuli River B.Yangtze River
C.The Yellow River D.orth River
2.In 2005,the population of the United Kingdom was almost the same as the population of the Chinese province of_______.
A.Heilongjiang B.Hubei
C.Hebei D.Jilin
3.The Huanghe is also called________in China.
A.The North River B.Black Lake
C.Yangtze D.The Yellow River