Lesson 14
Troublesome Snow
雪灾
一、雪灾带来的麻烦
1、Continuous heavy snow, sleet, and cold weather, the worst in five decades, are striking 14 central, southern and eastern provinces of the country.
2、Due to the thick ice covering power transmission facilities, some electricity wires have been broken and some power towers have collapsed, which have paralyzed power supply in many areas including power supply for rail lines.
3、The power drop has caused a standstill of trains on the railways where millions of people are on their way home for the Spring Festival reunion with their families.
4、Hundreds of thousands of people have been stranded in railway stations or even in the trains.
5、Highways have been blocked because of icy road surfaces and tens of kilo meters of vehicles have been trapped on the roads.
6、Some people have stayed on the road for several days.
7、Most of the flights have been canceled as both planes and airfields have been covered with snow and ice.
二、抗击雪灾的努力
8、Every airport has been full of people keen to go home.
9、The government has called on people to give up going home and stay where they work to spend the lunar New Year holiday.
10、While great effort is being made to resume power supply and traffic, huge tents have been set up on the railway station squares.
11、For the waiting people, food has been served free of charge.
12、The Premier has been to the railway stations to greet the stranded passengers.
三、意外的商机
13、Troops have sent military cooking vehicles to cook warm food for people trapped on the expressways.
14、Meanwhile,the tens of thousands of people stuck on the highways have provided a chance for business for the villagers living along the roads as they have been climbing over the highway fences to sell instant noodle, warm water, boiled eggs, ham, fruits etc. to the drivers and passengers.
15、Though it is illegal to break into the highway, they have been very help ful to those hungry people in the cold weather.
16、To some extent, the money they earn may help make up for the loss of crops destroyed by the brutal weather.
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