CNN News:丝绸之路

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.

许多人像马可波罗一样踏上了丝绸之路，但并没有像他一样行走过全程。各色的商人带着货物，沿着这条旅途上不同的支路行进。

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.

丝绸之路振兴了许多的国家。现在，中国，在投资一条新的丝绸之路，其目标与古代丝绸之路相似——把丝绸之路建设称沟通中西方贸易和思想的桥梁。

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长的铁路旅行。一辆中国货物列车完成了首次从中国城镇义乌到马德里的旅程。这意味着该辆列车横跨了至少八个国家——中国、哈萨克斯坦、俄罗斯、白俄罗斯、波兰、德国、法国和西班牙。

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.

该旅程每条支路长约8000英里，约花费3个星期。客观上，其长度约为从旧金山到纽约往返六次半，或从旧金山到悉尼往返的距离。

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

这条连接西方的通道被称为21世纪丝绸之路。

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.

这并不只是一条路线。去年，习近平总理宣布向丝绸之路投资400亿美元来促进连接亚洲以及以外的基础设施的发展繁荣。

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.

按照官方说法，今年是羊年。但是也许叫丝绸之年更合适哦~