Mega Factories 2|​超级工厂 2

by Marcus Maurice

You see the finished products, but do you know how they got there?

你看到的都是成品，但你知道它们从制作到上架的过程吗？

Walking into IKEA for the first time is an overwhelming experience even for the most seasoned shopper. There are couches, tables, chairs, and pillows in every imaginable color in all directions. Many small rooms are set up so prospective buyers can imagine how items would look in their own homes. Walking quickly through IKEA is impossible because the floor plan is designed to snake around so that customers have to go through the whole building before they can find their way to the checkout counters. Every year, 600 million customers choose IKEA for their distinct designs and affordable prices. Each of the 296 stores around the globe has almost 10,000 items for people to purchase. This month, National Geographic Channel's Mega Factories 2: IKEA goes behind the closed doors of IKEA's factories in Poland, where one supplier creates two million tables, chairs, sofas, and recliners each year and where another textile firm produces 500 pieces of upholstered furniture per day.

While IKEA's particle board (粒片板) is mostly made in its home country of Sweden, New York City's newest mass transit fleet starts off as sheet metal in São Paulo, Brazil. Super Subway films workers shaping the shells of these R-160 subway cars and then follows the cars on a month-long voyage from South America to the Big Apple, where the 85,000-pound vehicle is assembled and 24 miles of wiring is added. These state-of-the-art trains include soundproofing, LCD screen maps, and a braking system that actually generates and returns energy to the third rail. This new fleet is built to last 40 years and can withstand some of the toughest conditions in the subways of New York City. If you're interested in what goes on behind the scenes in big manufacturing plants, then Mega Factories 2 is right up your alley.

1.  How is IKEA described in the first paragraph?

(A) Second-rate.

(B) Average.

(C) Bewildering.

(D) Unimpressive.

2.  According to the article, which fact is NOT true about IKEA?

(A) IKEA has 10,000 stores around the world.

(B) One of IKEA's factories can make 500 items in a day.

(C) IKEA has 600 million customers annually.

(D) IKEA's floor plan was created in such a way that customers have to go through the entire store.

3.  In the article, how are the subway cars and IKEA's building materials linked?

(A) The subway cars are going to be made in Sweden.

(B) They aren't linked at all.

(C) IKEA is now starting to sell materials for building subway cars.

(D) The chairs in the subway cars come from IKEA.

4.  How are the R-160 subway cars state-of-the-art?

(A) They were made out of sheet metal.

(B) They are transported to New York in only a month.

(C) They were built 40 years ago.

(D) They have new features like LCD screen maps.

　　即使是经验最老到的顾客，初次走进 IKEA（宜家家居）时，还是会感到眼花撩乱。那里到处都有你想得到的各色沙发、桌椅和靠垫。那里还设置了许多小房间，让可能的买家能够想象这些物品在自己的家中会是什么样子。要快速逛完 IKEA 是不可能的事，因为楼层的设计是让顾客迂回蛇行，这样一来他们必须整栋商场走透透，才能找到前往结账柜台的位置。每年有 6 亿人选择到 IKEA 购买设计独到又价格合理的商品。全球共有 296 家店面，每家店都有将近一万件商品供人们选购。本月份国家地理频道的《超级工厂 2：宜家家居》节目将带领大家前往波兰，参观不为人所知的 IKEA 工厂，那里有家供货商每年要生产两百万张桌椅、沙发和躺椅，而另一家纺织公司每天得生产 500件有垫子的家具。

　　IKEA 的粒片板大多在原产地瑞典制造，而纽约市最新型大众运输列车的金属薄板也在巴西圣保罗蓄势待发。《超级地铁》单元拍摄工人打造 R-160 地铁列车的外壳，然后和这些列车一同踏上为期一个月的旅程，从南美到达有大苹果之称的纽约，在那里，重达 8 万 5 千磅的列车会被组装，并装配长达 24英里的线路。这些最新科技列车的隔音效果好、配有 LCD 地图屏幕，以及煞车系统，这个系统能产生动能并回传给供应动力的第三轨。这列新打造的列车能运作 40 年之久，而且能承受纽约市地铁里一些最艰险的状况。如果你对大型制造业幕后的制作过程很感兴趣，《超级工厂 2》包准能满足你的胃口。

标准答案: 1. (C)　2. (A)　3. (B)　4. (D)

For Your Information

关于纽约地铁

纽约地铁（New York City Subway, NYCS）是美国纽约市的快速大众交通系统，也是全球最错综复杂，且历史悠久的公共地下铁路系统之一。站数约在 470 上下，官方统计为 468 站。

NYCS 虽名为地铁，但约有百分之四十的轨道形式为地面或高架桥，并非完全都在地底运行。（数据源：维基百科）

何谓第三轨

电力火车设计的基本原理就是利用架空电车线路，或是在地面安装第三轨道（介于左右两边铁轨的中间位置）作为电力来源，利用其集电装置，将电源引入车内，经过变压器的变压、控制之后传达到牵引马达驱动车轮，也就是文中所提到的『第三轨』。