China's railways handle 606 mln passengers in first 4 months

 　　BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 606.48 million people traveled via China's railways during the first four months of 2012, a year-on-year increase of 2.8 percent, the Ministry¹ of Railways said Sunday.

　　Passenger numbers increased the most in April due to rising travel demand during the Qingming Festival (April 2 to 4) and Labor² Day holiday (April 28 to May 1), the ministry said.

　　The number of passengers traveling on trains rose 8.6 percent year-on-year in April, 7.4 percentage points higher than the growth registered in the first quarter, the ministry said.

　　Railways carried 1.33 billion tonnes of cargo³ in the first four months, up 3.8 percent from the previous year, the ministry added.

　　The ministry said it has increased support for the transport of important production materials and living necessities such as coal, grain, oil and chemical fertilizer.

　　The railways carried 785.34 million tonnes of coal, up 6.6 percent year-on-year in the first four months, while the transport of grain increased 15 percent to 35.96 million tonnes during the period, the ministry said.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。