从袜子到汽车
Why is China called the world’s factory?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
你身上的衣服、桌上的手机，翻过来看一看，很可能写着“中国制造”。人们常说，中国是“世界工厂”。这个说法是怎么来的？
一九七八年改革开放以后，中国的工厂越来越多，特别是在广东这样的沿海省份。那时候，中国的工人多，工资也比较低，所以很多外国公司来到中国开工厂。袜子、玩具、鞋子，一箱一箱地从中国的港口运到世界各地。
二零一零年，中国第一次超过美国，成了全世界制造业最大的国家。现在，全世界工厂做出来的东西，差不多有三分之一来自中国。
不过，“中国制造”的样子也在变。以前，大家想到中国工厂，想到的是便宜的小东西。现在，世界上八成以上的太阳能板是中国做的。二零二三年，中国还成了全世界出口汽车最多的国家，其中很多是电动车。
同时，中国的工资也越来越高，有的工厂已经搬到了越南、印度这些国家。“世界工厂”以后会不会换地方？这个问题，很多人都在讨论。
你现在身边的东西，有几样是中国做的？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 常 | cháng | often; frequently |
| 世界 | shìjiè | world |
| 以后 | yǐhòu | later; afterwards; in the future |
| 特别 | tèbié | special; unusual; especially; particularly |
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 差不多 | chàbuduō | almost; nearly |
| 来自 | láizì | to come from; to originate from |
| 变 | biàn | to change; to become; change; transformation |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
| 以上 | yǐshàng | the above; the foregoing |
| 汽车 | qìchē | car; automobile; motor vehicle |
| 搬 | bān | to move; to carry (something heavy) |
English (for the teacher)
Turn over the clothes you’re wearing or the phone on your desk, and it very likely says “Made in China”. People often call China “the world’s factory”. Where did that saying come from?
After reform and opening up began in 1978, China’s factories multiplied, especially in coastal provinces like Guangdong. Back then China had many workers and fairly low wages, so lots of foreign companies came to China to open factories. Socks, toys and shoes travelled box after box from China’s ports to every corner of the world.
In 2010, China overtook the United States for the first time to become the world’s biggest manufacturing country. Now almost a third of everything the world’s factories make comes from China.
But what “Made in China” looks like is changing too. People used to think of cheap little things when they thought of Chinese factories. Now more than eighty per cent of the world’s solar panels are made in China. In 2023, China also became the country that exports the most cars in the world, many of them electric.
At the same time, Chinese wages keep rising, and some factories have already moved to countries such as Vietnam and India. Will “the world’s factory” move somewhere else one day? Lots of people are debating that question.
Of the things around you right now, how many were made in China?