还在用的运河

我们坐的这条船，下面是一条河吧？水很绿，也很安静。

This boat we're on, the water below is a river, right? It's very green, and very calm.

这不是河，这是运河。这条运河，是人们自己造的。

This isn't a river. This is a canal. This canal was built by people themselves.

人造的？运河跟河不一样吗？我一直以为下面是一条河。

Built by people? Is a canal different from a river? I always thought it was a river underneath.

不一样。河不是人造的，一直都有。运河才是人造的，造了很多年，一点一点造好的。

They're different. A river wasn't built by people, it has always existed. A canal is what was built by people, it took many years, built bit by bit until it was finished.

造了很多年？为什么要造这么长的一条运河？

It took many years to build? Why did they need to build such a long canal?

很多年以前，南边种的米很多，但是北边的人也要吃米。人们就造了这条运河，把米从南边运到北边。

Long ago, the south grew a lot of rice, but people in the north needed rice to eat too. So people built this canal, to ship rice from the south to the north.

运河能运米？运河是不是比在路上运东西更容易，更便宜？

The canal could carry rice? Is shipping things by canal easier and cheaper than carrying them by road?

对，运河比路上容易，也便宜，所以很重要。除了米，人们还用运河运别的货物，茶、衣服，什么都运。

Right, the canal was easier than the road, and cheaper too, so it was very important. Besides rice, people also used the canal to ship other goods, tea, clothes, all sorts of things were shipped.

这条运河已经有两千多年了吧？我还以为它只是历史，现在应该没有用了。

This canal must be over two thousand years old, right? I thought it was just history, that it probably isn't used anymore.

还在用！你看前面的桥，桥下面是不是有一条船？那条船现在还在运货物。

It's still in use! Look at the bridge up ahead, isn't there a boat under the bridge? That boat is still shipping goods right now.

真的还在运货物？我以为运河只能在书里看到了，没想到桥下真的有船在运东西。它运的是什么货物？

It's really still shipping goods? I thought a canal was something you could only see in books. I didn't expect there'd really be a boat shipping things under the bridge. What kind of goods does it carry?

现在运的货物跟以前不一样了，不只是米，很多别的东西也用船运，因为船运比较便宜。你看，前面又有桥了，桥下也有船。

What's shipped now is different from before, it's not just rice anymore. A lot of other things are shipped by boat too, because shipping by boat is relatively cheap. Look, there's a bridge up ahead again, and there's a boat under it too.

运河到现在还在用，真有意思。这条运河是世界上最长的运河吗？

The canal is still in use even today, that's really interesting. Is this canal the longest canal in the world?

是，这条运河叫大运河，是世界上最长的一条运河，也是很老的运河。

Yes, this canal is called the Grand Canal. It's the longest canal in the world, and also a very old one.