Chaguan
茶馆
China’s long-distance lorry drivers are unsung heroes of its economy
长途汽车司机是中国经济的无名英雄
What is it like to join this invisible army?
加入这支队伍是什么样的体验？
1. AROUND FIVE in the morning is the mostlethal time on China’s motorways, says a transport-industry veteran. The peril comes from long-distance lorry drivers, whose vehicles may have been rolling for days, pausing only for fuel and the rest stops required by law: 20 minutes every four hours, with no daily limit on driving. As dawn breaks, a long-haul trucker may be munching sunflower seeds and sipping cold tea to stay awake, while a driving partner dozes on a bunk bed. To help that partner sleep, the windows may be closed. The only sound may be the tinny tones of a satellite-navigation device. Such drivers “are like ticking bombs, you don’t know if they are awake or asleep,” says the veteran, adding that as a result wise travellers avoid highways until after seven.
一位交通行业资深人士说，凌晨五点左右是中国高速公路上最危险的时刻。危险来自长途卡车司机，他们的车可能已经行驶了好几天，只在加油和法律规定的其他停车时间才会停下来，即每四个小时驾驶需要停车休息20分钟，没有每日驾驶时长的限制。破晓时分，一名长途卡车司机可能在大口嚼着葵花籽，啜饮凉茶以保持清醒，而另一名司机则在双层床上打瞌睡。为了帮助小伙伴入睡，窗户可能会被关上。唯一的声音可能就是卫星导航设备的微弱音调。这位经验丰富的司机表示，这些司机“就像定时炸弹，你不知道他们是醒着还是睡着了”。他补充说，因此，明智的旅行者在7点以后才会选择上高速公路。
2. If that makes drivers sound a bit unloved, the reality is sadder. Many Chinese do not think about long-haul lorries enough to be scared of them. China’s 30m lorry drivers are vital but invisible. Their toil helped the country become a manufacturing juggernaut. It is now feeding a consumer-spending boom, as middle-class Chinese order anything from a sofa to a selfie-stick with a tap on a smartphone, for express delivery at cut-price rates. This explosion in mobility, involving the creation of a vast highway network and a high-techlogisticsindustry in less than a generation, has brought Chinese truckers neither fame nor respect. When America and western Europe experienced similar transport booms in the 20th century, popular culture made folk heroes of long-distance drivers—brawny, taciturn types who prefer to braveblizzards than obey a foreman on a factory floor. Hollywood made films about wisecracking, heartbreaking truckers outsmarting policemen and other authority figures. Country singers recorded tributes like the hit of 1975, “Convoy” (“Ain’t nothin’ gonna get in our way”). Soon after becoming president Donald Trump invited truckers to the White House, climbed into a big rig and blasted its air horn, burnishing his blue-collar rebel credentials.
如果这让司机们听起来有点不受欢迎的话，那么事实就更令人难过了。许多中国人认为长途卡车没什么好怕的。中国3000万卡车司机至关重要，但却不为人所知。他们的辛勤劳动帮助这个国家成为制造业巨头。如今，随着中国中产阶级以低价订购任何商品，从沙发到智能手机自拍杆，快递业正在推动消费繁荣。在不到一代人的时间里，庞大的高速公路网和高科技物流产业的出现，使得中国卡车司机的流动性激增，但这既没有给他们带来声誉，也没有给他们带来尊重。当美国和西欧在20世纪经历了类似的交通繁荣时，流行文化使得长途司机成为了民间英雄——他们强壮、沉默寡言，宁愿冒着暴风雪也不愿服从工厂里的工头。好莱坞制作了一些电影，讲述睿智的的卡车司机如何智胜警察和其他权威人士的故事。乡村歌手们录制了像1975年的热门单曲《护卫队》(“没有什么能阻挡我们”)这样的致敬歌曲。当选总统后不久，唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)邀请卡车司机到白宫，爬上一个大平台，吹响了汽笛，为他的蓝领反叛者形象增添光彩。
3. Chaguan recently cadged a ride from Liu Chengbing, a 43-year-old lorry driver, as he began a run from Beijing to a chemicals plant in the coastal city of Jiaxing. Back in the 1990s drivers had a pretty high status, Mr Liu recalled. They earned good salaries, though most had only a middle-school education. They could make a still better living if they bought their own lorry and then touted for jobs, perhaps by handing out cards at factories. Self-employment is harder today. Margins are shrinking and repeat deliveries go to logistics firms. In June 2018 caravans of drivers used social media to organise nationwide protests about fuel prices, low incomes and the market dominance of a few, Uber-like load-finding apps.
最近，茶馆搭上了43岁的卡车司机刘成兵(音译)从北京到沿海城市嘉兴一家化工厂的车。刘回忆道，上世纪90年代，司机的地位相当高。尽管大多数人只受过中学教育，但他们的工资很高。如果他们买了自己的卡车，然后通过在工厂里发卡片来招徕工作，他们可以过上更好的生活。如今，自主创业更难了。利润率正在下降，重复交付的货物流向物流公司。2018年6月，大批司机利用社交媒体组织了全国性的抗议活动，抗议油价上涨、低收入以及一些类似优步(uber)的负载查找应用的市场主导地位。
4. Mr Liu sometimes takes his wife along in the cab to help with navigation, parking, food and accounts—a common practice. Like so many migrant workers, Mr Liu lives in the east, near Hangzhou, leaving his sons, 16 and 12, with their grandparents in rural Sichuan. Mr Liu can earn over 10,000 yuan ($1,400) a month. At least as a specialist driver of dangerous goods his hours are limited, and night-driving banned. Asked why lorry drivers are not heroes in Chinese films, he snorts, adjusting the brace that he wears for a painful back. “When I load stuff at the factory, the security guard sort of orders me around. That shows you our status,” he says. Near Cangzhou, south of Beijing, a traffic jam allows Mr Liu time for a swift roadside pee, a cigarette and a spot of kung-fu style high-kicking. He does not chat with nearby drivers. Truckers are not especially sociable, Mr Liu explains, back in the cab. One exception is on social media such as WeChat, where drivers share tips about bad traffic, good food and clean guesthouses. Some lorry drivers, including some of the roughtly one in 25 who are women, have built followings on Kuaishou, a video-sharing app. Mr Liu does not fear self-driving lorries taking jobs. “Maybe for smaller cars,” he muses. But for big lorries like his, hauling a tank of sulphuric acid plastered with warning signs, “you’re going to need a guy.”
刘先生有时会带着他的妻子一起坐出车，帮忙导航、停车、吃饭和记账——这是一种常见的做法。和许多农民工一样，刘住在东部，靠近杭州，而他16岁和12岁的儿子则随祖父母住在四川农村。刘先生一个月能挣一万多元(约1400美元)。至少作为一名危险货物的专业驾驶员，他的工作时间是受限制的，并且禁止夜间驾驶。当被问及为什么卡车司机不是中国电影中的英雄时，他哼了一声，调整了一下背部疼痛时戴的支架。“当我在工厂装东西的时候，连保安都会对我发号施令。这表明了我们的地位，”他说。在北京以南的沧州附近，一场交通堵塞让刘有时间在路边快速小便、抽根烟，还可以练练功夫。他不和附近的司机聊天。回到驾驶室后，刘解释说，卡车司机不善交际。一个例外是在微信这样的社交媒体上，司机们会分享关于交通堵塞、美食和干净宾馆的一些小贴士。一些卡车司机，包括25名女性中最粗鲁的一名，已经在视频分享应用快手(Kuaishou)上拥有了粉丝。刘并不担心自动驾驶卡车的出现抢走了他的工作。“也许是小型汽车，”他沉思道。但对于像他这样的大卡车来说，拖着一箱涂满警示标志的硫酸，“还是需要一个人的。”
5. A nationwide survey of the industry, published by the Social Sciences Academic Press in 2018, found that more than 71% of drivers own their vehicles, often after borrowing heavily. A big majority are from rural areas and are married with children. On average, drivers see their families once every 20 days. Asked if they would like their children to drive lorries, nearly 96% said no.
社会科学文献出版社(Social Sciences Academic Press)在2018年发布的一项针对汽车行业的全国性调查发现，超过71%的司机拥有自己的汽车，这通常是大量借贷买的。绝大多数卡车司机来自农村地区，已婚并有孩子。平均而言，他们每20天会见一次家人。当被问及是否愿意让孩子开卡车时，近96%的人表示不愿意。
Rugged individualists with Chinese characteristics
具有中国特色的顽强的个人主义者
6. Mats Harborn, a Beijing-based executive at Scania, a Swedish lorry-maker, has devoted years to promoting a Western-style “truck culture” in China, including driving contests that hail truckers as “heroes”. In part, this is to sell expensive imported lorries with fuel efficiency that makes them good value in the long run, but only if they are well driven. In part, Mr Harborn sees a broader need to help China develop a safe, sophisticated transport sector, rather than a “Wild East” industry plagued by overcapacity.
瑞典卡车制造商斯堪尼亚(Scania)驻北京高管马茨•哈伯恩(Mats Harborn)多年来一直致力于在中国推广西式的“卡车文化”，包括将卡车司机誉为“英雄”的驾驶比赛。在某种程度上，这是为了销售价格昂贵、燃油效率高的进口卡车，从长远来看，是很有价值的，但前提是它们的驾驶性能良好。在一定程度上，哈伯恩认为，更广泛的需要是帮助中国发展一个安全、先进的运输业，而不是一个深受产能过剩困扰的“狂野东方”行业。
7. Imported lorries are mostly bought by big logistics firms, and give drivers bragging rights among their peers, says Harry Huang of Volvo Trucks, another Swedish firm. Their comfort and safety—including gadgets that brake automatically if they detect a sleepy driver—may help deal with the industry’s chronic recruitment problems, he suggests, standing on the sidelines of a Volvo driving contest in the southern province of Guangdong. One contestant, Shao Panpan, drives the same route all year, connecting Suzhou with Harbin, more than 2,300km to the north. Each leg involves four days of non-stop driving, shared with a partner. He likes the job, and does not mind sharing a cab for days on end. “The partner thing is like a marriage, you need to get along and compromise,” Mr Shao says. Still,round-the-clock driving is hard. “Our bodies wear out faster than other people’s.” He can expect little thanks.
瑞典另一家沃尔沃卡车公司的Harry Huang说，进口卡车大多由大型物流公司购买，这给了司机们在同行中吹嘘的权利。他站在广东省沃尔沃驾驶比赛的边线上表示，这些汽车的舒适性和安全性——它装有能在司机打瞌睡的时候自动刹的设备——可能有助于解决该行业长期存在的招聘难问题。参赛选手邵盼盼(音译)全年都在同一条路线上行驶，从苏州到哈尔滨，全程2300多公里。每次行程都需要连续四天不间断的驾驶，他和同伴一起轮流着来。他喜欢这份工作，也不介意连续几天和别人合开一辆车。邵表示:“与伙伴搭伙就像婚姻，你需要相处和妥协。”尽管如此，24小时的全天候驾驶还是很困难的。“我们的身体比别人磨损得快。”他并不指望得到什么感谢。
精读解析
篇章结构
注：这篇文章的逻辑其实是很清晰的，首先在第一段讲述中国卡车司机驾驶存在的问题，包括长时间的疲劳驾驶导致安全问题而使得他们不那么受欢迎，然后阐述中国卡车司机虽然为中国经济腾飞作出了贡献，但是在中国社会地位并不高的事实，并将卡车司机的现状同过去以及美国作对比，给出证据。接下来，举一个具体的例子（刘先生）是说明中国卡车司机面临的现状，再给出统计数据说明卡车司机普遍的情况，最后，说明一些汽车公司采取措施提高卡车司机地位。
P1—P2：虽然长途汽车司机为中国经济腾飞做出了贡献，他们在中国并没有获得足够多的尊重。
P3—P5：中国长途汽车司机的现状：大多是农民工，不受尊重，大多借款买了自己的汽车。
P6—P7：一些进口汽车公司在采取措施提高司机的地位，打造更加先进的运输业。
重点单词
lethal /'liːθ(ə)l/ adj. 致命的，致死的n. 致死因子
【例句】
It is unwise to carry lethal weapons.
携带危险的武器很不明智。
veteran /'vet(ə)r(ə)n/ n. 经验丰富的人; 老兵；退伍军人
【例句】
Tony Leung Chiu Wai is a veteran actor (=a veteran of screen).
梁朝伟是个银幕表演经验丰富的演员。
peril /'perɪl/ n. 危险；冒险vt. 危及；置…于险境
【例句】
Technology has enormous promise but also peril.
技术有巨大的好处，也有巨大的危害。
munch /mʌn(t)ʃ/ vt. 用力咀嚼；大声咀嚼
【例句】
He was munching an apple.
他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。
bunk /bʌŋk/ n. 铺位；座床；床铺vt. 为…提供铺位
【例句】
Finally Hermione climbed down from her bunk.
最后，赫敏爬下了床。
invisible /ɪn'vɪzɪb(ə)l/ adj. 看不见的; 暗藏的
【短语】
Be invisible to对…不可见的
【例句】
Bacteria is something invisible to the eye.
细菌是肉眼看不见的东西。
juggernaut /'dʒʌɡənɔ:t/ n. 重型卡车；巨大的力量
【例句】
But behind what has become a media and financial juggernaut, is a story of faith and hope.
但是在足球赛事俨然成了一场媒体和金融界的大造声势之时，足球始终寓意着信念和希望。
mobility/məu'biləti/ n. 迁移率；机动性；移动性
【例句】
An unprecedented test of social mobility looms.
对社会流动性前所未有的考验正在冒头。
logistics /lə'dʒɪstɪks/ n. 后勤；物流
【同根】
logistic adj. 后勤学的；符号逻辑的
【例句】
Luckily for me, his other great strength is logistics.
对我来说幸运的是，他的另一项优势就是后勤。
brawny /'brɔːnɪ/ adj. 强壮的；肌肉结实的
【例句】
And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands.
褐色臂膀的肌肉，坚实得好像铁杵。
taciturn /'tæsɪtɜːn/ adj. 沉默寡言的,不爱说话的
【例句】
But these men were a taciturn lot, picking their words carefully.
但是这些人都是沉默寡言的人，说起话来字斟句酌，非常谨慎。
blizzard /'blɪzəd/ n. 暴风雪；暴风雪似的一阵;大量
【例句】
The deadliest blizzard on record is the 1972 blizzard in Iran.
有记录的最致命的暴风雪发生在1972年的伊朗。
wisecrack /'waɪzkræk/ n. 俏皮话v. 说俏皮话;俏皮地说
【例句】
It's pretty clear that she is undermining your path to success with her wisecracks and wordplay.
很显然她在你的成功道路上用她的俏皮话与双关语在搞破坏。
outsmart /aʊt'smɑːt/ vt. 比…更聪明；用计谋打败
【例句】
I make men out of them and teach them never to let anyone outsmart them.
我帮他们走向成熟并教导他们绝不要败给任何人。
burnish /'bɜːnɪʃ/ vt. 擦亮；使…光亮；将…打磨光亮n. 光泽；抛光；闪闪发光
【例句】
The craftsman burnished the brass plates until they glowed.
工匠把铜板打磨得发亮。
credential /krɪ'denʃ(ə)l/ n. 外交使节所递的国书,信任状
【例句】
I would bet his credentials are fraudulent too.
我敢打赌他的各项证件也是骗人的。
cadge /kædʒ/ v. 骗得白食；行乞；乞讨；贩卖
【例句】
He cadged fivers off old school friends.
他从老同学那里索要了几张五英镑钞票。
self-employment 自主创业；自雇
【例句】
Self-employment is an attractive choice and a good way for college students to start careers.
对于大学生而言，自主创业是一个极具吸引力的选择，也是一个良好的职业开端。
dominance /'dɒmɪnəns/ n. 优势;支配地位;控制力
【同根】
dominancy n. 优势,统治
dominant adj. 支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的
【例句】
American dominance in the twentieth century spread the language even further.
美国在20世纪的优势使得英语得到进一步传播。
navigation /nævɪ'geɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 航行(学); 航海(术), 航空(术)；导航, 领航
【例句】
Commercial air traffic is grounded, as pilots lose navigation and weather data.
由于飞行员失去导航和天气数据，空中交通瘫痪。
specialist /'speʃ(ə)lɪst/ n. 专家, 行家
【例句】
Dr. Washington is a specialist in genetics.
华盛顿医生是遗传方面的专家。
snort /snɔːt/ vt. & vi. 喷鼻息(以表示不耐烦, 轻蔑等)n. 喷鼻息, 鼻息声
【例句】
He gave a snort of derision.
他哼了一下鼻子表示嘲笑。
sulphuric /sʌl'fjuərik/ adj. 硫磺的,含多量硫磺的
【例句】
The sulphuric acid ate into the parts of the metal where the coat of paint had peeled.
硫酸腐蚀了这块金属上涂层剥落的地方。
rugged /'rʌgɪd/ adj. 粗糙的；坚固的；崎岖的；高低不平的
【短语】
rugged terrain崎岖地带
rugged environment
恶劣的环境
rugged individualism顽强的个人主义
【例句】
Farmers are inured to this rugged road.
农民们已习惯了这条崎岖的道路。
executive /ɪg'zekjʊtɪv/ n. 主管, 高级行政人员, 执行官；行政部门adj. 执行的, 行政的; 有行政能力的
【例句】
But for starters, you're my new junior executive executive's assistant.
但首先，我任命你为我的新行政主管行政助理。
sophisticated /sə'fɪstɪkeɪtɪd/ adj. 老练的; 老于世故的；精密的, 尖端的；高雅的, 有教养的
【同根】
sophisticate n. 老于世故的人
sophisticator n. 诡辩者,矫揉造作者,搀假者
【例句】
It is the most sophisticated multistage rocket.
它是最先进的多级火箭。
overcapacity /əʊvəkə'pæsɪtɪ/ n. 生产能力过剩
【例句】
It also acknowledged recent reform progress made in the country, such as improving financial regulation, reducing overcapacity and combating pollution.
同时，这份报告中还谈及中国最近进行的改革，比如加强金融监管、减少过剩产能以及防止污染。
round-the-clock /'raundðə'klɔk/ adj. 全天的,全天候的,不分昼夜的,连续不停的
【例句】
But concerns that prosecutors may be targets has led to other Texas officials getting round-the-clock security.
但是对于可能成为目标检察官的担心导致德克萨斯州的其他官员们获得全天候的安全措施。
The peril comes from long-distance lorry drivers, whose vehicles may have been rolling for days, pausing only for fuel and the rest stops required by law: 20 minutes every four hours, with no daily limit on driving.
这句话，句子的主干是：The peril comes from long-distance lorry drivers。后面的whose vehicles may have been rolling for days是一个whose引导的非限定性定语从句，修饰的是long-distance lorry drivers，说明那些vehicles是属于这些long-distance lorry drivers。再后面的pausing only for fuel and the rest stops required by law部分，是一个动词的现在分词引起的状语从句，补充说明这些long-distance lorry drivers主要是在那种情况下才会停下休息。最后冒号后面的内容是对前面的the rest stops required by law的解释，说明法律要求的休息具体是什么。
Mats Harborn, a Beijing-based executive at Scania, a Swedish lorry-maker, has devoted years to promoting a Western-style “truck culture” in China, including driving contests that hail truckers as “heroes”.
这个句子的主干是：Mats Harborn has devoted years to promoting a Western-style “truck culture” in China. 中间的a Beijing-based executive at Scania是Mats Harborn的同位语，说明Mats Harborn的身份，后面的a Swedish lorry-maker是Scania的同位语，说明Scania具体指的是什么，最后的including driving contests that hail truckers as “heroes”.补充说明这个比赛还包括什么。
