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【阅读理解】Reading: The Storm and the System
Mei, a 34-year-old meteorology graduate turned delivery dispatcher, watched the decibel meter on her phone climb past 70 as rain hit the studio window.
Her colleague Zhou, 51, a former emeritus forecaster, sketched a diagram of the harbour on a napkin, a habit from his years at the provincial observatory.
They worked for a small logistics enterprise that moved sensitive medical samples across the delta.
In 2019, the company had handled 12,000 deliveries a month; by 2023, that figure had halved to 6,000, a deficit blamed on floods, lawsuits, and distrust.
Their clients, mostly hospitals and labs, demanded maximum speed with minimum risk.
At 4:17 p.m., a refrigerated capsule carrying 40 vials of blood for a cancer trial was stuck in traffic near the old marble gallery.
The driver, a gig worker named Chen, called in, his voice a mix of apology and panic.
Mei pulled up biometrics from his dashboard; his heart rate was 112.
She prescribed the northern route, longer but higher in elevation.
Chen drove through a minority neighbourhood with narrow streets and poor sanitation.
The temperature inside the capsule rose; a red light blinked.
He remembered that if the temperature exceeded 8°C for more than 30 minutes, the samples would disintegrate.
He had 22 minutes left when he called Mei again, saying the road was blocked by a fallen tree.
Zhou's voice came on: 'There's a back alley. Turn left after the bakery. It's not on the map, but it's concrete.'
Chen hesitated, but Zhou said, 'Then drive slowly. But drive.'
The alley was a narrow enclosure of brick and shadow; Chen's van scraped a wall and the side mirror was gone.
At 4:52 p.m., he pulled into the lab's loading dock; the temperature had peaked at 7.8°C.
A technician ran a quick audit and nodded: 'Valid.'
Chen sat on the curb, his hands shaking; he had been driving for 11 hours and earned 180 yuan that day.
The penalty for a failed delivery would have been 2,000 yuan. He didn't feel grateful. He felt hollow.
That night, Mei and Zhou held a post-mortem in the empty office.
Mei suggested a contingency plan: a stockpile of dry ice or a drone prototype.
Zhou shook his head: 'The problem isn't technology. It's the system. It's exploitative. We treat drivers like replaceable parts.'
He recalled that in 1998, a colleague falsified a forecast because his boss threatened his career, and the distortion became a habit.
Zhou said, 'We start with the truth, even if it's just a sketch.'
The next morning, Mei submitted a report recommending a flexible delivery window, a higher minimum wage, and a mandatory rest period after 10 hours of driving.
At 6:30 a.m., she stood by the harbour, watching the ferries; the water was calm.
A single earthworm crawled across the pavement, confused by the wet; she knelt and moved it to the soil.
Then she went back inside.
Questions
1. What was Zhou's job before he worked at the logistics company?
A. A delivery driver B. A lab technician C. An emeritus forecaster D. A dispatcher
2. How many vials of blood were in the refrigerated capsule?
A. 22 B. 40 C. 30 D. 50
3. What does the word 'disintegrate' in paragraph 4 mean?
A. Become unusable B. Freeze completely C. Increase in volume D. Change colour
4. What can be inferred about Chen's attitude after the delivery?
A. He wanted to quit immediately B. He felt proud of his achievement C. He felt empty despite the success D. He was angry at Mei for the route
5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Technology to the Rescue B. The Life of a Dispatcher C. The Storm and the System D. A Race Against Time