Cargo ship

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cargo-ship

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the global trade volume?Carries over 10 billion tons of goods annually
2. What is the TEU capacity?Largest container ships can carry over 24,000 TEUs
3. How do cargo ships move so much stuff?They use large diesel engines that turn a big propeller, and their hulls are shaped to reduce water drag, making them faster and more fuel‑efficient.
4. Why are container ships special?Container ships have special holds and decks for standardized containers, which lets goods be moved easily between ships, trains, and trucks.

Intermodal Transport: Shipping goods using multiple modes of transportation (ship, train, truck) without handling the cargo itself.
Economies of Scale: The cost advantages gained by increasing the scale of production or operation, like larger ships.
TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit): A standard unit of measurement for cargo capacity on container ships, based on a 20-foot container.