A man wheels a bicycle fully laden with plastic bags of vegetables after leaving the Cao'an food market in Shanghai yesterday. One of the city's wholesale markets for agricultural products, Cao'an has started retail services from 7am every day in an attempt to cool soaring food prices. The prices for most of the vegetables sold at the market have dropped 20 percent since last week, which attracted nearby residents and other shoppers who came by bus across several districts. China's Cabinet has announced food subsidies for poor families and promised to ease shortages of vegetables and grain that helped push up food prices 10 percent in October.

THE Chinese government yesterday upped the fight against inflation with the announcement of price control guidelines and a call to local authorities to offer temporary subsidies to poor families.

Efforts would be made to ensure market supplies, improve subsidy systems, make price controls more targeted and strengthen market supervision, said a statement released after a State Council, or Cabinet, executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Measures included additional" target="_blank" title="a.附加的，额外的">additional support for food production, cutting delivery costs, guaranteeing fuel supplies and cracking down on hoarding.

Government departments and local governments were urged to offer temporary price subsidies for the poor, and increase allowances for needy students and student canteens. Social welfare benefits should be aligned with price levels and basic standards of social welfare should be gradually raised.

The statement said the government would further support agricultural production to maintain steady growth of output and put state reserves of grains, edible oils and sugar on the market when necessary to guarantee supplies.

Local governments are ordered to keep a close eye on vegetable production to increase supplies through the winter, take measures to cut delivery costs of agricultural products and increase cotton transportation" target="_blank" title="n.运输；运送；运费">transportation from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

They should also continue to reduce prices of power, gas and rail transport for chemicalfertilizer producers, ensure coal supplies for power generation and increase production of oil, especially diesel oil, to guarantee a sufficient supply.

The authorities should adjust prices promptly and moderately, keep gas prices stable and imposetemporary price controls on important daily necessities and production materials when necessary.

In addition, the government would strengthen market supervision and crack down on hoarding or speculation in major agricultural products, said the statement.

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, soared to a 25-month high of 4.4 percent year on year in October.

The government's top concern is to control inflation, judging from moves to raise bank reserves ratios and increase interest rates, said Yu Junwei, an analyst with Shanghai Shiji Investment Advisory Co Ltd.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, said on Tuesday that the authorities would tighten controls on liquidity.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• agricultural [ægri´kʌltʃər(ə)l] a.农业的 (初中英语单词)
• cabinet [´kæbinit] n.橱，柜；内阁 (初中英语单词)
• strengthen [´streŋθən, ´strenθən] vt.加强 vi.变强 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• premier [´premiə] n.总理 a.首要的 (初中英语单词)
• additional [ə´diʃənəl] a.附加的，额外的 (初中英语单词)
• welfare [´welfeə] n.福利(事业) (初中英语单词)
• maintain [mein´tein] vt.维持；保持；继续 (初中英语单词)
• output [´autput] n.产品；产品；计算结果 (初中英语单词)
• vegetable [´vedʒtəbəl] a.&n.蔬菜(的)；植物 (初中英语单词)
• transportation [,trænspɔ:´teiʃən] n.运输；运送；运费 (初中英语单词)
• transport [træn´spɔ:t] n.运输；流放 (初中英语单词)
• chemical [´kemikəl] a.化学的 n.化学制品 (初中英语单词)
• generation [,dʒenə´reiʃən] n.发生；世代；同龄人 (初中英语单词)
• adjust [ə´dʒʌst] vt.调整；校准；使适应 (初中英语单词)
• promptly [´prɔmptli] ad.敏捷地；即时地 (初中英语单词)
• stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)
• impose [im´pəuz] v.课税；强加；利用 (初中英语单词)
• addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
• investment [in´vestmənt] n.投资；(时间等)投入 (初中英语单词)
• governor [´gʌvənə] n.总督；州长 (初中英语单词)
• bicycle [´baisik(ə)l] n.自行车 (高中英语单词)
• announcement [ə´naunsmənt] n.通告；宣布；言谈 (高中英语单词)
• temporary [´tempərəri] a.暂时的 n.临时工 (高中英语单词)
• supervision [,su:pə´viʒən, ,sju:-] n.管理；监督 (高中英语单词)
• delivery [di´livəri] n.送交；分娩；交货 (高中英语单词)
• guarantee [,gærən´ti:] n.保证；担保 vt.允诺 (高中英语单词)
• speculation [,spekju´leiʃən] n.思索，推测；投机 (高中英语单词)
• consumer [kən´sju:mə] n.消费者；用户 (高中英语单词)
• tighten [´taitn] v.(使)变(拉)紧 (高中英语单词)
• wholesale [´həulseil] n.&vt.批发 a.批发的 (英语四级单词)
• retail [´ri:teil, ri´teil] n.&a.&v.零售(商品的) (英语四级单词)
• fertilizer [´fə:tilaizə] n.肥料 (英语四级单词)
• moderately [´mɔdəritli] ad.适度；适中；普通 (英语四级单词)
• edible [´edəbl] a.可食的 n.食品 (英语六级单词)