VOA常速英语:Inside the FedEx Hub: How Packages Arrive at Your Door

This is the FedEx Super Hub in Memphis, a huge place taking up close to foursquare kilometers.And for this private package delivery company, nighttime is their busy time.
这里是位于孟菲斯的联邦快递超级转运中心，占地面积近四平方公里。对这个私人行李托运公司来说，夜晚是他们最忙碌的时段。

We would actually call this the Memphis World Hub because it connects all of our network around the world. It’s shortly after 10:00 p.m. and the aircrafts start landing one after the other.This is the first part of the whole process, so what you’re seeing is the offload of a 767, okay.So what they’re doing is…they’re taking these containers or bringing them down to the ground.They’re going to take them on one of these dollies in the tug. And you’re going to pull them to one of the inputs that we have here, okay.A team usually consists of a dozen people. They only have 30 minutes to unload more than 50 tons of cargo. Because sorting takes place in descending planes, the noise is deafening.And all employees must wear special headphones. Talking is a luxury. They use gestures to communicate.
其实我们会把这里称为孟菲斯世界枢纽中心，因为这里连接着世界各处。二十二点刚过，飞机就一架接着一架开始降落。这就是整个流程中的第一部分，你可以看到货机波音767正在卸货。我们的工人……他们正在把这些货箱搬到地上。他们会把货箱放在这种可以拖拉的滑动台车上，然后再把它们拉到投货口。通常，一个团队由十几名员工组成，他们只有三十分钟时间来卸下五十多吨货物。由于将货物分类时伴随着平台下降，这里的噪声震耳欲聋。所有员工必须佩戴特制耳机。在这里，聊天是一件奢侈的事情，工人们要依靠肢体语言来交流。

Now, this is all one team. These folks will move from aircraft to aircraft as a team. Large containers have little wheels, so that’s easier to move them.The next step is loading parcels on to the sorting belt. More than 10,000 employees work here. Their main task is to place boxes on the conveyor belt with barcode facing up.Then a special scanner reads the crate and gets the information about the weight and dimensions of a box as well as its final destination point.
这就是一支完整的团队，他们要把东西在飞机之间进行搬运。大型货箱会配有小车轮，所以会比较容易运送。下一步是将货物放置于分级输送带上，有一万多名员工在这里工作，他们的主要任务是将货箱放在输送带上，同时要让货箱条形码朝上放置。然后会有一个特殊扫描机对货箱进行扫描并读取信息，包括货箱重量、尺寸以及目的地。

Memphis will sort them, the package, about 1.4 million a night, will come through this facility every night, about 700,000 in the daytime. So it will ride the belt system. It will be sorted automatically, some of it by hand.And it’ll get reloaded into a container, go back out on an airplane,and then it will happen in reverse.A team has 20 minutes to fill each container with assorted packages.
孟菲斯枢纽中心会对包裹进行分拣，这里每晚大概可以完成一百四十万个包裹的分拣工作，白天可以完成七十万个包裹的分拣工作。这些货物会在传送带系统上，而后自动分类，有时也会人工对其进行分类。然后它们会被重新装入货箱中，再运至飞机上，到下一站点再进行相反的操作。每个团队有二十分钟时间来将各种混杂的包裹放入货箱中，

FedEx can transport any cargo, even animals.In fact, FedEx transported pandas from a Washington DC zoo back to China.Seals and bears have also been sighted on the passenger list. Anything if we can fit it through the door of the aircraft, we can probably ship it for you.
联邦快递可以运送各种物品，动物都可以运送。事实上，联邦快递曾经将华盛顿动物园里的熊猫运送到中国，还运送过海豹和熊。不管你要运什么，只要它能通过飞舱机门，我们就能替你运走。

The FedEx fleet includes more than 650 aircrafts.Each is named after the child of a FedEx employee.That started with our first Falcons named after our Chairman’s daughters. And then it has continued throughout all of our years of operation.We’ve continued to name plane.
联邦快递的机队包括650多架飞机，每架飞机的名字都是以联邦快递员工的孩子的名字命名的。从“猎鹰”号开始就有这个传统了，首先是从以我们董事长女儿的名字命名开始，然后我们就将这个传统延续了下来，一直以这种方式为飞机命名。

After the last plane lands, the line shift comes to an end early in the morning.By then, all the parcels are sorted and headed to their destinations.Workers head home to rest and do it all over again the next time they come back.
最后一架飞机降落后，这一晚的货物分类运送工作终于在大清早结束了。这时候，所有的包裹都分类完毕，发往各自的目的地。工人们也回家休息，下一班工作开始后，又要开始同样的忙碌。

For Voilia Buccaneers in Memphis Tennessee and I’m Anna Rice VOA News
Voilia Buccaneers撰写，美国之音记者Anna Rice孟菲斯田纳西报道。