Five Minutes to Cross the Border

For millions of people who travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China, the old Huanggang checkpoint was a familiar test of patience. Built in 1989, it made travellers queue twice and show their documents twice. On October 12, after seven years of rebuilding, a new checkpoint opened in the same place, and the whole trip now takes about five minutes.

The new building is the largest single land border building in the world. It covers 689,700 square metres, with four floors underground and five above. It stays open 24 hours a day, and it is the only land checkpoint between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China that never closes. Inside there are 134 self-service lanes and 68 lanes with staff, plus 28 lanes for cars and buses.

The real change, however, is not the size. Officials from both sides now work in the same hall, an arrangement known as one place, two checks. Instead of two queues there is one. A traveller shows a card once, and the two sides read the same information at the same time in the background. Health, customs and immigration checks have been joined into a single lane, so a person can finish everything in one stop.

For daily commuters, the saving is easy to feel. A bank worker who crosses the border every day said he no longer has to wait. Some people live in Shenzhen and work in Hong Kong, China, while others do the opposite. Cutting twenty-five minutes from each trip adds up to more than four hours a week. Faster travel also helps the cities of the Greater Bay Area work more closely together.

A shorter queue is only part of the story. The project shows that rules and computer systems can be linked, not just roads and bridges. Seven years is a long time to wait for a building, but for the people who pass through it every day, the reward is simple: less waiting, and more time at home.

Words to know:

patience (耐心)
queue (排队；队伍)
lane (通道；车道)
customs (海关)
immigration (出入境查验)
commuter (通勤者)
document (证件；文件)
reward (回报；奖赏)

长难句拆解 · 同位语解释与被动语态

第一句：Officials from both sides now work in the same hall, an arrangement known as one place, two checks. 主干很短：Officials work in the same hall。from both sides 是介词短语作后置定语修饰 Officials；逗号后的 an arrangement known as… 是同位语，用来解释前面整句话，其中 known as 是过去分词短语作后置定语修饰 an arrangement。这种「逗号 + 名词短语」的同位语结构在英文新闻里极常见，中文常译成「这就是所谓的……」。直译：两地的查验人员现在在同一座大厅里办公，这就是所谓的「一地两检」。

第二句：Health, customs and immigration checks have been joined into a single lane, so a person can finish everything in one stop. 前半句用现在完成时的被动语态 have been joined into，主语是 Health、customs、immigration 三个名词共同修饰的 checks。被动语态在这里故意不提施动者，因为重点是「被合并」这个结果而不是谁去合并。后半句由 so 引出结果，注意英语里 so 和 because 不能同时出现。直译：卫生检疫、海关和出入境查验已被合并到同一条通道里，因此一个人一次停靠就能办完全部手续。

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。

queue twice and show their documents twice → wait in two lines and present papers two times（旧口岸流程的改写）
the largest single land border building in the world → the biggest land checkpoint structure on earth（世界之最的替换）
stays open 24 hours a day → never closes, day or night（全天候通关的释义）
officials from both sides work in the same hall → staff of the two sides share one office（同楼办公的改写）
cutting twenty-five minutes from each trip → saving about half an hour every time（省时的替换表达）
helps the cities work more closely together → brings the region closer（促进融合的释义）
less waiting, and more time at home → shorter queues and more family time（结尾金句的改写）

阅读自测 · 3 题

判断正误：The new checkpoint is open only during the daytime.
简答：How long does a traveller need for the whole crossing at the new checkpoint?
选词填空：A traveller now shows a card ____, and the two sides read the same information. (A. once B. twice C. never)

参考答案与解析

False（错误）。原文说 It stays open 24 hours a day, and it is the only land checkpoint between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China that never closes，即 24 小时通关、从不关闭。题干用 only during the daytime 把「全天候开放」偷换成「只在白天开放」，属典型的「偷换结论」干扰套路。
About five minutes.（大约五分钟。）原文首段直接给出 the whole trip now takes about five minutes，定位 five minutes 即可；旧口岸的 30 分钟是干扰信息。
A. once。原文为 A traveller shows a card once, and the two sides read the same information at the same time in the background。B 的 twice 是旧口岸的做法、C 的 never 与事实相反，都属「偷换事实」的干扰项。

中文译文

对每天往返深圳与中国香港之间的人来说，旧的皇岗口岸是再熟悉不过的耐心考验。它建于 1989 年，要求旅客排两次队、出示两次证件。10 月 12 日，经过七年的重建，一座新口岸在原址开通，如今全程只需要大约五分钟。

新建筑是目前全球规模最大的陆路口岸单体建筑，建筑面积 68.97 万平方米，地下四层、地上五层。它 24 小时通关，也是深圳与中国香港之间唯一从不关闭的旅检公路口岸。口岸内设有 134 条自助通道和 68 条人工通道，另有 28 条车辆合作查验通道。

但真正的变化不在规模。两地查验人员如今在同一座大厅里办公，这就是所谓的「一地两检」。原本要排两次队，现在只需排一次。旅客只出示一次证件，两地就在后台同时读取同一份信息。卫生检疫、海关和出入境查验已被合并到同一条通道，因此一个人一次停靠就能办完全部手续。

对每天通勤的人来说，省下的时间很容易感受到。一位每天过关的银行职员说，他再也不需要等待了。有些人住在深圳、在中国香港工作，也有人正好相反。每次往返省下二十五分钟，一周累计就超过四小时。更快的通行也让大湾区各城市之间的协作更紧密。

队伍变短只是故事的一部分。这项工程说明，可以打通的不只是道路和桥梁，还有规则和计算机系统。等一座建筑建成用了七年，但对每天从这里经过的人来说，回报很简单：少一些等待，多一些陪家人的时间。