The Town That Makes the Toys You Love
During the National Day holiday, many young people in Shenzhen spent their happy hours with designer toys. At a toy festival, huge soft figures waved at visitors, and long lines formed at the shops. These small objects seem to carry a kind of magic that keeps both children and adults coming back. Few people know that most of them are born in the same place: Dongguan, a city about an hour’s drive from Shenzhen.
Nationwide, nearly 85 percent of China’s designer toys come from Dongguan, which people now call the capital of Chinese designer toys. The busiest part of this industry sits in a small town named Shipai. The town covers only 48.7 square kilometres, yet it is home to more than 400 toy and designer toy companies. In a single exhibition centre there, almost every kind of designer toy on the market can be found.
So how did this town win so many young hearts? The first answer is that the products speak to feelings. A small pot shaped like a Chinese medicine tool stands for good health, and a lychee stands for good luck. Buyers are not only paying for a toy; they are paying for a good mood. The second answer is culture. Local companies turn traditional skills into modern objects, and one model of an old wedding sedan chair needs more than 2,000 metal parts. The third answer is speed. Because the area has made toys for big foreign brands for over forty years, every step from design to finished product can be done in one place.
The change has been real. In 2023, the value of original local brands passed the value of contract work for the first time, which meant the world’s factory had started selling its own ideas. From January to August this year, the designer toy business in Shipai reached 11.8 billion yuan. A small toy, it turns out, is a very big business.
Words to know:
- designer toy (潮玩;设计师玩具)
- magic (魔力;魔法)
- nationwide (全国范围的)
- exhibition (展览;展会)
- mood (心情;情绪)
- lychee (荔枝)
- contract work (代工;合同加工)
- reach (达到)
长难句拆解 · 让步状语与并列结构
第一句:The town covers only 48.7 square kilometres, yet it is home to more than 400 toy and designer toy companies. 主干由 yet 连接的两个并列分句构成:The town covers only 48.7 square kilometres(这个镇只占地 48.7 平方公里)与 it is home to more than 400 toy and designer toy companies(它却是 400 多家玩具和潮玩企业的所在地)。be home to 意为「是……的所在地/栖息地」。only 与 more than 在这里形成反差,读的时候要注意这种「小地方对多大数目」的对比。 直译:这个镇只占地 48.7 平方公里,然而它却是 400 多家玩具和潮玩企业的所在地。
第二句:Because the area has made toys for big foreign brands for over forty years, every step from design to finished product can be done in one place. Because 引导原因状语从句,for over forty years 是时间状语(长达四十多年)。主句是 every step from design to finished product can be done in one place,其中 from design to finished product 是介词短语作后置定语,修饰 every step。can be done 是情态动词的被动语态。 直译:由于这个地区为外国大品牌做玩具已经四十多年,从设计到成品的每一个步骤都能在一地完成。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读的题干很少照抄原文,它更喜欢把同一个意思换一种说法。下面这些替换在本题材里很常见,先自己盖住右边,试着回忆。
- come from Dongguan → be produced in Dongguan / be made in Dongguan(产地的同义表达)
- be home to 400 companies → host / contain 400 companies(「容纳、坐落着」的改写)
- speak to feelings → meet emotional needs / touch people’s hearts(抽象表达换具体说法)
- stand for good health → represent / mean good health(表示象征意义)
- pay for a good mood → spend money on happiness(「为……买单」的不同说法)
- pass the value of → go beyond / exceed the value of(超过、反超)
- a very big business → an industry of great size(口语化说法换书面表达)
阅读自测 · 3 题
- 判断正误:Designer toys have fans only among children.
- 简答:Why can the whole process from design to finished product be done in one place?
- 选词填空:In 2023, the value of original local brands ____ the value of contract work for the first time. (A. fell behind B. passed C. matched exactly)
参考答案与解析
- False(错误)。原文说 these small objects seem to carry a kind of magic that keeps both children and adults coming back,即孩子和大人都喜欢。干扰项套路是「偷换范围」——故意漏掉 adults,把 both…and… 缩小成 only。
- Because the area has made toys for big foreign brands for over forty years.(因为这个地区为外国大品牌做玩具已经四十多年。)答案就在原文这一句的原因状语从句里,做题时先定位 Because 再抄主干即可。
- B. passed。原文为 the value of original local brands passed the value of contract work,passed 在此处是「超过」的意思,不能用 matched exactly(恰好持平)替代。注意 A、C 属于「偷换结论」的干扰项,把超越说成落后或持平。
中文译文
国庆假期里,深圳不少年轻人的快乐时光是跟潮玩一起度过的。在一场潮玩节上,巨大的毛绒玩偶向游客挥手,店铺前也排起了长队。这些小小的物件似乎带着一种魔力,让孩子和大人都一再回头。很少有人知道,它们当中大多数都诞生在同一个地方:距离深圳一个多小时车程的东莞。
在全国范围内,中国近 85% 的潮玩产自东莞,人们如今把它称作中国潮玩之都。这个产业最密集的一环,落在一个叫石排的小镇上。这个镇只占地 48.7 平方公里,然而它却是 400 多家玩具和潮玩企业的所在地。仅在当地一个展示中心里,市面上几乎所有品类的潮玩都能找到。
那么这个小镇是如何赢得这么多年轻人的心的?第一个答案是产品懂人心。一把做成中药壶模样的小玩意象征着身体健康,一颗荔枝则象征着好运。买家不只是在为一个玩具付钱,更是在为一份好心情付钱。第二个答案是文化。当地企业把传统技艺变成现代物件,其中一款老式花轿模型就要用两千多个金属零件拼成。第三个答案是速度。由于这个地区为外国大品牌做玩具已经四十多年,从设计到成品的每一个步骤都能在一地完成。
变化是实实在在的。2023 年,东莞本土原创品牌的价值首次超过了代工业务,这意味着世界工厂开始售卖自己的创意。今年 1 月到 8 月,石排镇的潮玩产业集群产值达到 118 亿元。一个小小玩具,原来是一桩很大的生意。