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回家过年的农民工

　　中国媒体报道称，中国最重要的节日农历新年即将到来，春运期间铁路将发送旅客23亿人次。

　　A record 2.3 billion passenger trips will be taken in China during the upcoming Lunar New Year period, the country's most important holiday, Chinese media said on Thursday.

　　世界上规模最大的年度人口流动就发生春运期间。《中国日报》称，有1亿8千8百万人将乘坐火车，公路客运将发送20亿人次，还有2400万人在一至二月间，乘坐假日飞机。

　　A record 188 million people will take to the nation's rail system, 2 billion road trips will be taken and 24 million will take holiday-related flights in January and February, the China Daily said, in what is the world's biggest annual migration.

　　法新社称，在这一年一度的人口大流动中，无数的中国人归心似箭，这个国家的交通系统承受了巨大压力，经常出现一些混乱局面。

　　The yearly exodus is marked by chaotic scenes as masses of Chinese desperate to return home overwhelm the nation's transport grid, AFP said.

　　2009年中国新年假期始于1月26日，比往年要早。

　　The official Chinese New Year holiday for 2009 falls on January 26, earlier than most years.

　　但是，春运高峰通常在节日开始2周前出现，从1月11日持续到2月19日。

　　However, the travel rush usually begins up to two weeks before that, and will last 40 days beginning from Jan 11 to Feb 19.

　　今年早些时候，正当人们回乡之际，由于遭受反常的冬季暴风雪的袭击，春运更显混乱，全国一大片地区备受其苦。

　　Earlier this year, the chaos was compounded dramaticallyby freak winter ice storms that spread misery across a huge swathe of the country just as the migration was getting under way.

　　《中国日报》援引政府主要的经济规划机构称，由于今年春节紧接着1月1日的公历元旦，2009年的春运可能会更加混乱。

　　Citing the government's main economic planning agency, the China Daily said 2009 could see more chaos as this Chinese New Year follows closely after the Western New Year on January 1.

　　报道称，许多大学生和其他一些人通常在元旦前后出行，而这两大即将到来的节日导致的人口流动加在一起将使交通系统不堪重负。

　　Many college students and other people typically travel just before or after the Western New Year and the upcoming holidays could see both migrations swamping the transport system at the same time, it said.

　　12月9日，人民网发起了一项在线调查，题目是“2009年春运高峰即将到来，你最关心的是什么？”

　　People’s Daily Online launched an online survey titled “What problem are you most concerned about for the upcoming 2009 Spring Festival railway transport peak season?” on December 9.

　　截止到当日下午8点，共有17496网民参与了调查，有14403人选择了“买票难，几乎不可能买到”，占到了参与调查者总数的82.3%。

　　By 8:00 pm that day, a total of 17,496 netizens had participated in the survey, and 14,403 of them chose “buying train tickets is difficult, it is almost impossible to get one,” accounting for 82.3% of the total number of participants.

　　国家发改委也告诫地方政府要采取措施，处理好即将到来的交通拥堵，尤其是在沿海制造业集中的地区。

　　The National Development and Reform Commission also warned local governments to take steps to handle the expected crush, particularly in coastal manufacturing regions.

　　据《中国日报》报道，春节期间的天气预报显示，全国大部分地区气温正常，但局部地区会遭遇暴风雪。

　　According to the China Daily, the weather forecast during the Spring Festival is that most of the country will experience normal temperatures for that time of year, but heavy snows were expected in some regions.