China moves more parcels than any other country. On a busy day the number can pass four hundred million, and each one arrives in a box or a bag. Most of that material is used once and then thrown away. After a shopping festival the waste can be seen piled outside almost every residential building.
The industry has tried several answers. The simplest is to use less material. A box that fits the goods more tightly needs less cardboard and less filling, and a thinner envelope can replace a heavy one. These changes are cheap and can be done quickly, which is why they spread first.
The harder idea is the reusable box. These are made of thick plastic or strong board and are designed to travel many times. A courier hands over the goods, takes the box back, and returns it to a centre where it is cleaned and sent out again. One box may make dozens of trips before it wears out.
Reuse sounds better than recycling, and in theory it is. In practice the costs sit in the wrong place. The company that buys the box pays for it, but the benefit appears later and is shared by everyone. Getting the empty box back is also hard: customers are not at home, couriers are in a hurry, and every extra stop takes time.
The direction is still clear. Slimmer packaging is now common, and reusable boxes are used in a growing number of cities, at least for local delivery. The remaining problem is not technology. It is the design of the small reward that makes a busy courier and a tired customer bother to hand the box back.
Words to know:
- parcel (n. 包裹，邮包)
- cardboard (n. 纸板，硬纸板)
- packaging (n. 包装，包装材料)
- reusable (adj. 可重复使用的)
- courier (n. 快递员，信使)
- recycle (v. 回收，再利用)
- benefit (n. 收益，好处)
- reward (n. 奖励，报酬)
长难句拆解 · 被动语态 + 定语从句 + 并列谓语
原文：These are made of thick plastic or strong board and are designed to travel many times.
拆解：主干是 These are made of thick plastic or strong board and are designed to travel many times（它们由厚塑料或坚固纸板制成，并被设计为可多次使用）。主语 These 指前文的 reusable boxes。谓语由两个并列的被动结构构成：are made of 和 are designed to。be made of 指「由……制成」，强调看得出原料；如果强调看不出原料则用 be made from。be designed to do 意为「被设计用于做某事」。travel many times 中 travel 是引申用法，指（物品）跑很多趟，而非人旅行。
直译：它们由厚塑料或坚固纸板制成，被设计为可以反复使用很多次。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文的词换成另一个说法来出题，认出这些替换，定位就能快一半。
- moves more parcels than any other country → handles more packages than any other nation（move ＝ handle）
- is used once and then thrown away → serves a single time before being discarded（throw away ＝ discard）
- can be seen piled outside → can be found stacked in the open（piled ＝ stacked）
- use less material → consume fewer raw materials（use ＝ consume）
- spread first → were adopted earliest（spread ＝ 推广）
- before it wears out → before it becomes unusable（wear out ＝ 用坏）
- the costs sit in the wrong place → the expenses fall on the wrong party（sit ＝ fall on）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- T / F / NG：中国每天运送的包裹数量已经超过四亿件。（判断正误并说明依据）
- 简答：为什么可循环箱在推广中面临困难？
- 选词填空：A thinner envelope can ____ a heavy one.（供选：replace / replay / reply）
参考答案与解析
- NOT GIVEN。原文说 On a busy day the number can pass four hundred million，指的是「繁忙时一天可以突破四亿件」，并非「每天都超过四亿件」。题目把 can pass（可能突破）改成了「已经超过」，去掉了条件和上限，属于偷换范围，因此判 NOT GIVEN。
- 成本落在了错误的地方（买箱子的企业付费，收益却出现得更晚且由所有人共享），而且收空箱很难：顾客不在家、快递员赶时间，每多一次停留都要花时间。原文对应 The company that buys the box pays for it, but the benefit appears later and is shared by everyone，以及 Getting the empty box back is also hard。
- replace。replace 意为「替代」，与原文 a thinner envelope can replace a heavy one 完全一致。replay 意为「重放」，reply 意为「回复」，均不合题意。
中文译文
中国运送的包裹数量超过任何其他国家。繁忙时一天可以突破四亿件，每一件都装在一个纸箱或袋子里送达。这些材料大多只用一次就被丢弃。一场购物节之后，几乎每栋居民楼外都能看到堆起来的废弃物。
这个行业尝试过若干办法。最简单的是少用材料。更贴合商品的纸箱需要的纸板和填充物更少，更薄的封装袋可以替代厚重的。这些改动成本低、见效快，因此最先推广开来。
更难的想法是可循环箱。它们由厚塑料或坚固纸板制成，被设计为可使用多次。快递员递送商品时把箱子收回，再运回一个中心清洗后重新发出。一个箱子在报废前可能跑上几十趟。
重复使用听起来比回收更好，理论上确实如此。实际中问题出在成本落在了错误的地方。买箱子的是企业，而收益出现得更晚，且由所有人共享。把空箱收回来也不容易：顾客不在家，快递员赶时间，每多一次停留都要花时间。
方向仍然是清晰的。更轻薄的包装如今已很普遍，可循环箱也在越来越多城市使用，至少在本地配送中如此。剩下的问题不是技术，而是如何设计那个小小的奖励，让忙碌的快递员和疲惫的顾客都愿意把箱子交回来。