春运遇上冰雪天，再冷再难也要回家！

 　　The worst cold snap in years disrupted travel plans of some Chinese as millions embarked¹ on journeys home on Sunday, the first day of the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush.

　　上周日（1月24日），为期40天的春运拉开帷幕，数百万人准备踏上回家的旅程，然而，一场多年罕见的超强寒流来袭，打乱了人们回家的计划。

　　Students, migrant workers and other passengers boarded trains, buses, and planes to head home for the Spring Festival, or the lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 8 this year.

　　学生、在外务工人员以及其它客流，都将搭乘火车、公交、飞机等交通工具回家过春节（农历新年）。今年春节将是2月8日这天。

　　Their trips were impacted by the worst cold in decades, which caused snow and blizzards² in eastern and southern provinces. Railway authorities in the eastern city of Nanjing said at least 38 trains were delayed on Sunday.

　　这场几十年最强寒流引起了中国东部和南部的大雪甚至暴风雪天气，旅程都受到了影响。中国东部南京市的铁路管理部门称，24日至少有38辆列车晚点。

　　At the Hangzhou airport, many people started to line up for check-in early Sunday. Airport authorities said flights may be delayed because of defrosting. The airport expects to handle 80,000 passengers on Sunday.

　　在杭州机场，很多旅客一大早就开始排队办理登机手续。机场管理部门表示，航班可能因为恶劣天气而延误。机场这天计划发送8万人次的旅客。

　　"The Spring Festival travel rush means a bigger workload³, and this year, the cold weather has kept us busier," said Liu Ying, a train attendant on the Shanghai-Nanjing express rail service.

　　从上海发往南京的特快专列上的乘务员刘颖说，“春运意味着我们的工作量更大，但今年遇上了寒潮，让我们忙上加忙。”

　　Road traffic and flights were also disrupted in Yunnan Province. Since late Saturday, about 11,229 passengers have been stranded⁴ at the Kunming airport.

　　云南省的道路交通和航班也都处于紊乱状态。自上个星期六开始，约有11229名乘客滞留在昆明机场。

　　China’s transportation authorities estimate more than 2.9 billion trips will be made around the country during the 40-day travel rush.

　　中国交通部门预计，今天40天的春运期间，客运量将超过29亿人次。

　　Motorbikers were also on the move Sunday. Clad in helmets, masks, thick gloves, raincoats, knee guards and layers of plastic bags around their legs, dozens of workers started their journeys from wealthy Guangdong Province, where they work, to neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous⁵ Region.

　　摩托大军也在这一天出发了。他们全副武装，戴着头盔，面罩，厚厚的手套，雨衣，腿上绑着护膝和多层塑料袋，几十个人就这样从他们打工的地方，富裕的广东省朝着邻近的广西壮族自治区进发。

　　Motorcyclist Wang Tianzhang got up at four o’clock in the morning on Sunday for a tiring two-day ride with his wife and fellow workers. They work in Foshan, Guangdong, and their hometown is an ethnic⁶ village in Guangxi’s Hechi City. A train ride takes about 20 hours and requires several transfers. For them, riding motorbikes is more convenient and cost-effective.

　　摩托大军中的王天章和他的妻子以及工友们在星期天一早4点就起床了，他们得经历整整两天的艰难疲惫的旅程才能到家。他们来自广西河池市的一个少数民族村庄，在广东佛山工作。即便乘火车，回家也需要20个小时，还得多次转车。对他们来说，骑摩托回家更方便也能节省路费。

　　"The weather got worse as we headed toward Guangxi. It was freezing, and we had to stop every hour to find some warmth," the middle-aged⁷ man said.

　　这个中年男人说，“随着我们接近广西地界，天气变得越来越糟糕。天寒地冻的，我们每过一小时就得停下来暖和暖和再走。”

　　Traffic police in Wuzhou City, Guangxi expect to see 200,000 motorcycles this year. Eight service stations have been set up to provide repair services for them.

　　广西梧州的交警预计今年约有20万摩托大军回家过年，在沿途设了8个服务点来为他们提供补给服务。

　　In eastern and northeastern China, where more high-speed rail routes operate, traffic pressure has eased this year.

　　在中国东部和东北部，更快速的铁路线路的投入使用，有效缓解了今年的交通压力。

　　A high-speed railway linking Shanghai with the northern city of Harbin takes about 12 hours, about half the travel time for a slower train.

　　一条连接上海和北部哈尔滨的高铁线，全程仅需12个小时，是慢速列车一半的时间。

　　Yang Cuikun, an official with the Nanjing railway authority, said changes in the lifestyles of migrant workers have also contributed to the ease.

　　南京铁路部门的官员杨崔昆表示，农民工生活方式的改变也有助于缓解春运压力。

　　"More migrant workers have settled in cities and no longer go back to their hometowns for the lunar new year. Migrant workers are also choosing employment near their hometowns as wages in eastern provinces lose their appeal," said Yang.

　　他说，“越来越多的农民工在城市安了家，春节时不用再返回到故乡。而且随着东部省份的薪资水平失去了吸引力，更多的农民工选择在离家不远的地方工作。”

　　At a filling station in Wuzhou, motorcyclist Zhou Xiaodi squeezes water out of his gloves. "Going home has never been easy," he said. "In a few years, I will save enough money to find a job near my home and stay close to my family."

　　在梧州的一个加油站，摩托大军里的一员，周小迪正在用力挤出手套里的水。他说，“回家的路，一直都是这么难。过几年，等我攒够了钱，我要在离家不远的地方找份工作，和我的家人们在一起。”

1 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

2 blizzards   

暴风雪( blizzard的名词复数 )； 暴风雪似的一阵，大量（或大批）

参考例句：

• Even in the summertime we might be struck by blizzards. 甚至在夏天，我们也可能受到暴风雪的袭击。
• Blizzards battered Britain for the third day. 大风雪袭击英国已进入第三天。

3 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

4 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

5 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。