On September 25, a county-level city in Hunan Province did something simple and unusual. The city, Changning, published the mobile phone numbers of 132 leading officials, from the Party secretary and the mayor down to the heads of towns and street offices. Each name was printed next to a job title and a number, and residents were told they could also send text messages if a call was not answered.
The idea behind the list is easy to understand. In daily life, many people who meet a problem do not know which office to contact. They ask one department, then another, and their request is passed along until it slowly disappears. By putting a name and a number together, the city turned finding a department into finding a responsible person.
This is not a brand new idea. Sichuan Province tried something similar back in 1998, and other places have done it since. In 2022, Bozhou in Anhui Province opened its officials numbers and set up a special office to handle the calls. That year, sixteen city leaders received more than twenty thousand requests, and about 13,324 after repeats were removed, with a completion rate of 96.5 percent.
Supporters say the list builds a direct road between citizens and officials. But critics raise two fair worries. First, if every small request goes to a top official, ordinary departments may wait for orders instead of doing their jobs, and busy leaders lose time for larger work. Second, if a number is never answered or has already been cancelled, citizens lose trust instead of gaining it.
The real test, then, does not happen on the day a list is posted but in the months after it. Making a call work is only the starting point; making the problem go away is the answer. A phone number is useful when someone answers it, something gets done, and the person at the other end later reports back.
Words to know:
- publish (v. 公布，发布)
- official (n. 官员，干部)
- resident (n. 居民，市民)
- department (n. 部门，机构)
- complaint (n. 诉求，投诉)
- responsible (adj. 有责任的，负责的)
- completion rate (n. 办结率，完成率)
- trust (n. 信任)
长难句拆解 · 分词短语作伴随状语
原文：Each name was printed next to a job title and a number, and residents were told they could also send text messages if a call was not answered.
拆解：主干是 Each name was printed and residents were told（每个名字被印出，居民被告知）。and 连接两个并列分句。if a call was not answered 是条件状语从句，修饰 send text messages；was not answered 是被动语态，表示「电话没有被接听」，动作的承受者是 a call。
直译：每个名字旁边都印着职务和一个号码，居民还被告知，如果电话无人接听，他们也可以通过短信沟通。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文的词换成另一个说法来出题，认出这些替换，定位就能快一半。
- published the mobile phone numbers → made the phone numbers public（publish 在此指「公开」，不是「出版」）
- residents were told → citizens were informed（被动语态在英文新闻里极常见）
- does not know which office to contact → is unsure whom to turn to（contact = turn to，都是「找、联系」）
- their request is passed along → the request is handed from one place to another（pass along 表层层转达）
- ordinary departments may wait for orders → regular offices may sit back and wait（wait for orders ＝ 坐等批示）
- citizens lose trust → people stop believing in the system（抽象的 trust 可换成具体说法）
- making the problem go away is the answer → solving the problem is what really counts（go away = be solved）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- T / F / NG：常宁公布的名单只包含市级领导，不含乡镇一级。（判断正误并说明依据）
- 简答：作者认为公开领导电话的真正考验出现在什么时候？
- 选词填空：If a number is never answered or has already been ____, citizens lose trust.（供选：cancelled / counted / carried）
参考答案与解析
- FALSE（偷换结论）。原文说明名单覆盖三级干部：市级领导、市直部门主要负责人、以及乡镇（街道）主要领导，共 132 人。题目把「三级」偷换成「只含市级」，是典型的范围缩小陷阱——看到 only 这类限定词就要回原文核对范围。
- 真正的考验不在名单公布当天，而在其后的几个月里。作者的原句是「真正的考验不在名单张贴之日，而在此后」，并进一步指出「打得通只是起点，办得成才是答案」。
- cancelled。cancel 意为「注销、取消」号码，与 has already been 的完成被动结构搭配自然；counted（计数）与 carried（携带）都不能表达号码作废的意思。
中文译文
9 月 25 日，湖南省一座县级市做了一件简单却不寻常的事。这座城市——常宁——公布了 132 名领导干部的手机号码，从市委书记、市长，一直到乡镇和街道的主要负责人。每个名字都对应着职务和号码，当地还提示居民，如果电话无人接听，也可以通过短信沟通。
这份名单背后的想法其实很好理解。日常生活中，很多人遇到问题不知道该找哪个部门。他们问了一个部门，再问另一个，诉求在层层转达中慢慢没了下文。把姓名和号码放在一起，这座城市就把「找部门」变成了「找责任人」。
这并非全新的做法。四川省早在 1998 年就有过类似尝试，此后各地也陆续做过。2022 年，安徽亳州公开了当地领导的手机号，并成立专门机构处理来电。那一年，16 位市领导收到两万多件诉求，去重后约 13324 件，办结率达 96.5%。
支持者认为，这份名单在市民和干部之间搭起了一条直达的路。但质疑者也提出了两个合理的担忧。其一，如果每件小事都涌向主要领导，常规部门可能坐等批示而不主动办事，繁忙的领导也失去了处理更大事务的时间。其二，如果号码始终无人接听，或者早已注销，市民失去的将是信任而不是顾虑。
因此，真正的考验并不发生在名单公布的那一天，而在其后的几个月里。打得通只是起点，办得成才是答案。一个电话号码有用，是因为有人接、有事情被推动、事后还有人反馈结果。