Railway fascination

On July 1 this year, when the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway was put into operation, Lin Jiachen, a sophomore from Zhangjiagang Senior High School, was one of the first passengers.
今年7月1日，沪苏通铁路开通运营，来自张家港高级中学的高二学生林镓陈便是首批乘客之一。

“I was so proud and excited at that moment,” Lin said.
“当时我特别自豪激动，”林镓陈表示。

The Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge is the world’s first bridge spanning more than 1,000 meters, serving both cars and trains. For many people, it is merely a means of transportation. For Lin, it is something much more.
沪苏通大桥是世界上首座跨度超千米的公铁两用桥梁。在许多人看来，这座大桥仅仅是种交通方式。而对于林镓陈而言，这座大桥的意义不仅于此。

Ever since 2014 when the bridge was set to be built, Lin has been keeping a close eye on it.
自2014年大桥开始建设以来，林镓陈便一直在关注它。

His love for high-speed railway started in his childhood. Lin’s grandfather has been a big fan of the rails. The young Lin used to stand on the pedestrian overpass near a railway station with his grandfather to observe how trains pull in and pull out.
他从小便喜欢高铁。林镓陈的外公是个铁路迷。小时候林镓陈会跟着外公站在火车站附近的人行天桥上，观察火车进进出出。

One night in 2007, Lin decided to go outside to see the D Train, a new kind of China Railway high-speed train being put into operation at that time.
2007年的一个晚上，林镓陈决定出门看看动车，在当时，这是一种中国刚投入运行的全新铁路高速列车。

After waiting for almost three hours, he had a chance to see a D train pulling into the station. “I was very satisfied at that time,” Lin said. Besides observing the trains, Lin has also been paying attention to major projects related to railway construction.
在等了将近三小时后，他终于有机会看到一辆动车进站。“我当时十分满足，”林镓陈说道。除了观察火车之外，林镓陈还会注意与铁路建设相关的大型项目。

Living nearby the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge, Lin would go to the construction site of the bridge every two days in order to get the latest news about it.
就住在沪苏通大桥附近的林镓陈每两天就会去一次大桥的建筑工地，了解最新情况。

The construction of the bridge was drawing to a close as Lin grew up. Lin decided to keep a record of this period along with his like-minded friends. They assembled an industrial camera to record the process of its closure from June in 2019. Pinned on a lamppost, the camera automatically took photos twice a day at a specific time and uploaded the photos to a website.
随着林镓陈长大，大桥的建设也即将完工了。林镓陈决定要与他志趣相投的朋友们一起记录下这段时光。从2019年6月开始，他们组装了一个工业相机，记录下了大桥合龙的过程。相机就固定在一个灯柱上，每天两次在特定时间自动拍摄，并将照片上传至一个网站上。

Lin was responsible for monitoring the operation of the device. If something went wrong, he would repair it with his friends. Six months later, they wrapped up the filming project. Lin picked up some photos and made a one-minute video, which was listed as one of the most popular photography works in a contest organized by the China Railway Shanghai Group in May.
林镓陈负责监控设备的运行。如果相机发生故障，他会和朋友们一起维修。六个月后，他们完成了拍摄项目。林镓陈挑选了一些照片，做成了一段1分钟的视频，这段视频今年5月在中国铁路上海局集团举办的一次活动中被评为最受欢迎的摄影作品之一。

“I hope more people realize that our country’s infrastructure facilities are strong,” said Lin.
“我希望越来越多人认识到我们国家的基础设施强大了，”林镓陈表示。

Speaking of his future plans, he said, “I’ll choose a major related to bridge architecture when applying for universities.”
在谈到自己的未来打算时，他表示：“我会在大学里选择与桥梁建筑相关的专业。”

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高二810期