CNN News:絲綢之路

With the possible exception of Marco Polo, most people who used the Silk Road never actually traveled the whole distance. Different traders would carry goods along different legs of the journey.

許多人像馬可波羅一樣踏上了絲綢之路，但并沒有像他一樣行走過全程。各色的商人帶著貨物，沿著這條旅途上不同的支路行進。

The route has seen a number of revivals over the centuries. China is investing in one now with a similar goal to the ancient one -- bridge East and West with trade and ideas.

絲綢之路振興了許多的國家。現(xiàn)在，中國，在投資一條新的絲綢之路，其目標與古代絲綢之路相似——把絲綢之路建設稱溝通中西方貿(mào)易和思想的橋梁。

FAREED ZAKARIA: The world's longest rail journey was completed this week. A Chinese cargo train finished its first trip from the town of Yiwu in China to Madrid. That means it passed through no fewer than eight countries -- China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and Spain, according to Chinese state media.

FAREED ZAKARIA:本周完成了世界上最長的鐵路旅行。一輛中國貨物列車完成了首次從中國城鎮(zhèn)義烏到馬德里的旅程。這意味著該輛列車橫跨了至少八個國家——中國、哈薩克斯坦、俄羅斯、白俄羅斯、波蘭、德國、法國和西班牙。

The journey was more than 8,000 miles each way and each leg took roughly three weeks. To put that in perspective, the round trip distance is equivalent to traveling between Los Angeles and New York approximately six and a half times, or from LA to Sydney and back again.

該旅程每條支路長約8000英里，約花費3個星期?？陀^上，其長度約為從舊金山到紐約往返六次半，或從舊金山到悉尼往返的距離。

The direct link to the West has been called the 21st Century Silk Road by Chinese officials.

這條連接西方的通道被稱為21世紀絲綢之路。

It isn't just this isolated route. Last year, Xi Jinping announced a $40 billion Silk Road fund to boost infrastructure that could link markets across Asia and beyond.

這并不只是一條路線。去年，習近平總理宣布向絲綢之路投資400億美元來促進連接亞洲以及以外的基礎設施的發(fā)展繁榮。

It's officially the year of the sheep, or by some translations, the ram or the goat. But perhaps the silk worm would be more appropriate.

按照官方說法，今年是羊年。但是也許叫絲綢之年更合適哦~