Sharp drops in temperatures, strong winds howling ... A cold snap has struck many parts of China.
氣溫驟降，狂風呼嘯……寒潮席卷中國大部分地區(qū)。

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued an orange alert on Dec 28, as a cold air mass swept across the country from north to south. This is the first orange warning since 2016, which is the highest in the three-tier ranking, followed by yellow and blue.
隨著冷空氣自北向南侵襲中國，12月28日，中央氣象臺發(fā)布寒潮橙色預(yù)警。這是自2016年來首個橙色預(yù)警。橙色為三級寒潮預(yù)警中的最高級別，其次分別是黃色預(yù)警和藍色預(yù)警。

On Dec 27, the temperature in the Greater Hinggan Mountains of Heilongjiang province fell to -44.5 C, the lowest since winter began, the region’s meteorological service said.
12月27日，黑龍江大興安嶺氣溫降至零下44.5℃，為入冬后最低氣溫，該地區(qū)氣象局如此表示。

According to Sun Jun, the chief forecaster from the NMC, this round of the cold wave is tougher than the same period in normal years. Temperatures in more than 25 cities could reach record lows. Even in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, temperatures have reached subzero.
中央氣象臺首席預(yù)報員孫軍稱，與歷史同期相比，此次寒潮強度更強。超過25個城市氣溫創(chuàng)歷史新低。甚至湖南、江西的氣溫也跌破冰點。

The NMC warned that as a result there could be power shortages.
中央氣象局提醒，寒潮可能導(dǎo)致電力供應(yīng)不足。

Since early December, China has reported power squeezes in the provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang.
自12月初開始，就有報道稱湖南、江西、浙江電力供應(yīng)緊張。

Street lamps in several cities have not been on. Elevators in some office buildings haven’t worked. The central air conditioning in malls, libraries and government buildings has been off for several days, Xinhua reported.
據(jù)新華社報道，一些城市的路燈關(guān)閉照明；一些寫字樓的電梯停運；商場、圖書館、政府辦公大樓的中央空調(diào)也已關(guān)閉數(shù)天。

According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the power cuts in these provinces are a result of the dramatic increase of demand for electricity fueled by the high demand of industries that have now recovered and are keen to make up for the lost time earlier in the year and the low temperatures.
國家發(fā)展改革委員會表示，目前工業(yè)生產(chǎn)已恢復(fù)，并全力彌補今年早些時候的損失，這些省份停電是因為工業(yè)生產(chǎn)的高需求和低溫寒流疊加，導(dǎo)致電力需求高速增長。

Meanwhile, domestic needs for electricity also surged. For instance, in Hunan, low temperatures came at least one month earlier than usual in the province this year. Millions of people started using space heaters to deal with the cold weather.
與此同時，家庭用電需求也激增。比如，今年湖南的低溫天氣至少比往年提前了一個月。數(shù)百萬人開始使用小型取暖器來應(yīng)對低溫天氣。

In order to help people get through these conditions, China is increasing its supply of natural gas and coal to ensure its power generation and heating needs, according to the NDRC. Major coal producers in the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi have been instructed to boost production capacity and coal imports. The NDRC has ordered power plants to have coal reserves for at least 18 days. It would also guarantee the power support to regions in Hunan and Jiangxi, which are short of the supply of coal.
國家發(fā)改委表示，為幫助人們抵御寒冷天氣，我國正在增加天然氣和煤炭的供應(yīng)，以確保發(fā)電供暖需求。國家發(fā)改委已經(jīng)指導(dǎo)山西、陜西主要煤炭企業(yè)提高產(chǎn)能，增加煤炭進口，并要求電廠存煤至少可用18天。發(fā)改委也將保障煤炭短缺的湖南、江西等地的電力供應(yīng)穩(wěn)定。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀學(xué)生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學(xué)生英文報高中版》高三737期