万花筒2008-02-01:Storms cause chaos in China

Storms have stranded¹ hundreds of thousands of commuters at railway stations.

It is the world’s new superpower forced to a standstill. And there are millions, they are waiting and waiting, with no way out, the young, and the old, and the desperate.

“Can you help us, we want to go out”

And with each passing day, tensions rise, and sometimes they spill over. But the army is here to marshal the migrant workers who all year fuel the factories that make our high streets cheap and are now denied their one moment of freedom.

In this one Province there are 19 million migrant workers, so how desperate would you be if this was your one holiday of the year. Well, this week no one is going anywhere.

Not much has moved in this massive country for days. The heaviest snowfall for 50 years has crippled communications and paralyzed power supplies, all this on the eve of the Chinese New Year when tens of millions go home to see their families, a situation so serious, that the Prime Minister has been out to calm the crowds.

Apologizing and promising² swift action.

But crowds this size make the Communist nervous. At the railway station, there are queues to join in queues and growing frustration³.

This man tells us he hasn’t seen his wife and children for three years and fears he will miss them for a fourth. A couple say their wedding will be canceled if they can’t get home. Others we find behind locked gates, complain they’ve been effectively imprisoned⁴.

“Yes, very cold and hungry, very hungry, and angry, yes, very angry and hungry ”"and angry and hungry?" "yes, yes." Tonight, more migrant workers will march to the station, but still there are no trains to catch and no way home.

1 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。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。