CRI听力：New Round of Snow to Continue for Two More Days

A senior Chinese weather forecaster says the new round of heavy snow will continue to batter southern China for two more days, but this time it is not expected to pose as much threat as the more devastating snowfall earlier in January.

He Lifu is a senior forecaster with the China Meteorological Administration.

He says the new snow is not as heavy as the previous one, but it will make relief efforts more difficult as the country struggles to recover from the worst winter weather in half a century.

"For regions which have not fully recovered from the snow disaster in January, the new round of snow may make matters worse. But the good thing is the new snow will not last long, it is expected to come to a halt the day after tomorrow. "
He Lifu also says the snow may affect agriculture production in Guizhou, Hunan and Yunnan provinces as a result of a dramatic decline in temperature in these areas.

Meanwhile, China says many schools in the snow-stricken areas will postpone the new semester as relief efforts in these areas are still in progress.

Jiang Peimin is a senior official with the Ministry of Education.

"So far, the estimated number of schools that can't open on time for the new semester exceeds 1,300. Nearly 1,000 of them are in Hunan province. "

China's Ministry of Education and Finance has so far allocated more than 2 billion Yuan, or about 300 million US dollars, to help rebuild schools in the snow stricken areas.