Transport and Trade
Transport is one of the aids to trade. By moving goods from places where they are plentiful to places where they are scarce, transport adds to their value. The more easily goods can be brought over the distance that separates producer and consumer, the better for trade. When there were no railways, no good roads, no canals, and only small sailing ships, trade was on a small scale.
The great advances made in transport during the last two hundred years were accompanied by a big increase in trade. Bigger and faster ships enabled a trade in meat to develop between Britain and New Zealand, for instance. Quicker transport makes possible mass-production and big business, drawing supplies from, and selling goods to, all parts of the globe. Big factories could not exist without transport to carry the large number of workers they need to and from their homes. Big city stores could not have developed unless customers could travel easily from the suburbs and goods delivered to their homes. Big cities could not survive unless food could be brought from a distance.
Transport also prevents waste. Much of the fish landed at the ports would be wasted if it could not be taken quickly to inland towns. Transport has given us a much greater variety of foods and goods since we no longer have to live on what is produced locally. Foods which at one time could be obtained only during a part of the year can now be obtained all through the year. Transport has raised the standard of living.
By moving fuel, raw materials, and even power, as, for example, through electric cables, transport has led to the establishment of industries and trade in areas where they would have been impossible before. Districts and countries can concentrate on making things which they can do better and more cheaply than others and can then exchange them with one another. The cheaper and quicker transport becomes, the longer the distance over which goods can profitably be carried. Countries with poor transport have a lower standard of living.
Commerce requires not only the moving of goods and people but also the carrying of messages and information. Means of communication, like telephones, cables and radio, send information about prices, supplies, and changing conditions in different parts of the world. In this way, advanced communication systems also help to develop trade.
參考翻譯:
交通與貿(mào)易
交通是貿(mào)易的輔助手段之一。把貨物從它們比較豐富的地區(qū)運(yùn)到這種貨物稀少的地區(qū),交通增加了它們的價(jià)值。把貨物從生產(chǎn)者那里運(yùn)送到一定距離之外的消費(fèi)者那里越容易,對(duì)貿(mào)易就越有利。過(guò)去沒(méi)有鐵路,沒(méi)有很好的公路,也沒(méi)有運(yùn)河,只有小帆船,所以貿(mào)易的規(guī)模很小。
在過(guò)去的兩百年中,運(yùn)輸業(yè)取得了巨大的進(jìn)展,伴之而來(lái)的是貿(mào)易的迅猛增長(zhǎng)。例如,更大更快的輪船使英國(guó)和新西蘭之間發(fā)展了肉食貿(mào)易??旖莸倪\(yùn)輸使大批量的生產(chǎn)和大的企業(yè)成為可能。它們從全球各地購(gòu)買(mǎi)原料,又把產(chǎn)品銷(xiāo)售到全球各地。如果沒(méi)有方便的交通把他們所需的大批工人從家鄉(xiāng)帶來(lái)或送回,大的工廠就不可能存在。除非顧客們能很快從郊區(qū)趕到城里并且貨物能迅速地被送到家里,否則,城市里的大商場(chǎng)也不可能發(fā)展起來(lái)。除非食物能從遠(yuǎn)處運(yùn)來(lái),否則,大城市也無(wú)法生存。
交通能夠防止浪費(fèi)。如果大量的魚(yú)被運(yùn)到了港口卻不能很快送往內(nèi)陸城鎮(zhèn),那么很多就要被浪費(fèi)。交通使我們的食品和貨物豐富起來(lái),因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)僖矡o(wú)須以當(dāng)?shù)厮a(chǎn)的東西為主要食品了。過(guò)去一年內(nèi)某一時(shí)間才能得到的食物現(xiàn)在一年四季都可以得到。交通提高了人們的生活水平。
通過(guò)運(yùn)輸燃料、原料,甚至電力(例如,可通過(guò)電纜),交通使工業(yè)和貿(mào)易在原來(lái)不可能的地區(qū)發(fā)展起來(lái),地區(qū)和國(guó)家可以集中生產(chǎn)那些比別的地區(qū)成本低、質(zhì)量又好的產(chǎn)品,然后互相交換。交通運(yùn)輸越便宜越快捷,那么貨物的產(chǎn)地和目的地之間的距離就越遠(yuǎn),同時(shí)又能贏利。交通落后的國(guó)家生活水平也較低。
商業(yè)的發(fā)展不僅需要有貨物和人口的遷移,而且要求信息的傳遞。一些聯(lián)系手段,如電話(huà)、電報(bào)和無(wú)線電廣播可以給人們帶來(lái)世界各地的價(jià)格、供應(yīng)的信息,讓人們了解變化的情況。先進(jìn)的通信系統(tǒng)可以以這種方式幫助發(fā)展貿(mào)易。
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