A Railway Wonder
On June 16 this year, the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway (和若铁路) opened in Xinjiang. It was really exciting.
The newly-opened railway is about 825 km long. It connects (连接) Hotan City in southwestern Xinjiang with Ruoqiang County in the southeast. The railway is also connected to two other railways. Together, they form (形成) a 2,712-kilometer-long line around the Taklimakan Desert, the largest desert in China.
The Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway is of great importance. It has 22 stations and has brought an end to the history of having no railway in some counties and towns in southern Xinjiang. And it shortens the travel time. Now the train ride from Hotan to Ruoqiang only takes about eleven and a half hours. The railway will help people there live a much better life.
But building the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway was not easy. It started in December 2018 and took about three and a half years. About 65% of the railway is in the sand and wind zone (地带). To solve the sand and wind problem, workers planted a great many trees along the line. In some parts, workers built bridges to let the sand and wind pass under them.
What a wonder the railway is!
The Monkey and Apples
Once there was a monkey. He lived a happy life in the forest. One morning, he went to a village. He saw a basket of red apples in a house. He took one in each hand and ran back into the forest. He tried to eat them, but he hurt (弄痛) his teeth. These apples were made of wood (木头), but they looked beautiful. The monkey really loved them.
At noon, the monkey got hungry. He wanted to pick some bananas to eat but he had the apples in his hands. He couldn't let go of the wooden apples to reach for the bananas. He was afraid to lose the beautiful apples.
The monkey walked along through the forest with his hands full. But he became unhappy because he was tired and hungry. Finally, in the evening, he threw away (扔掉) the wooden apples and went to look for his meal. He became happy again.
It's wise to give up something that seems beautiful but useless.
