隨身英語(yǔ):大雪導(dǎo)致交通混亂

If you are thinking about coming to Britain for Christmas, it might be a good idea to think again. That’s because thousands of Christmas travellers have been stranded in the UK as adverse weather conditions caused massive disruption to the transport infrastructure. Roads, railway lines and airports have been closed as blizzard conditions have swept across the UK, leaving people stuck in their homes or even their cars. Some of the worst affected travellers are those who had hoped to take the Channel Tunnel rail service to France and Belgium. Eurostar, the company that operates the service was forced to cancel all trains for three days after extreme weather in France caused trains to break down, leaving some passengers trapped under the English Channel for up to 16 hours. In parts of England hundreds of motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles, as black ice and drifting snow turned the roads into slippery toboggan runs. Police and transport agencies have warned travellers to avoid making any non-essential journeys to reduce the "mayhem" that has been seen on British roads. Gritters and snow ploughs are working overtime to keep the roads clear but for many people around the country the Christmas holidays have come early this year. And for every frustrated traveller who just wants to get home, there is probably a delighted child, whose school has been closed early. So with more bad weather forecast, if you are absolutely determined to come to the UK over the Christmas then you ought to wrap up warm, pack your snowshoes and even bring a sledge.