时间:2018-11-27 作者:英语课 分类:VOA慢速英语2008年(十二)月


英语课
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

For much of the year, record prices for oil have made oil-producing nations rich. Now these nations are trying to cut production to support collapsing 1 prices.

Last week, the Organization of Petroleum 2 Exporting Countries met in Algiers. Members agreed to a record production cut of more than two million barrels a day, or about five percent of world output. OPEC's president said the group may call an emergency meeting in March if prices continue to fall.
 






An oil worker at Saudi Arabia's Khurais oil center. Operations at the center were expanded as oil reach 140 dollars a barrel.



Less than six months ago, oil traded at a record one hundred forty-seven dollars a barrel. Governments and oil companies in Russia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia spent billions of dollars to develop new oil fields. Now, oil is trading for less than forty dollars a barrel—down over seventy percent.

At the root of the sharp price decrease is reduced demand because of the economic downturn. The American Petroleum Institute says demand for oil in the United States fell by three percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. Americans are driving smaller, more fuel efficient cars. And they are driving less.

Last week, the Energy Information Administration released a report on oil use in the United States. The Annual Energy Outlook for Two Thousand Nine predicts that American oil use will remain mostly unchanged through the year twenty thirty. The report says new fuel efficiency rules for vehicles, requirements for increased use of renewable fuels and increased fuel prices will limit demand. The United States is the world's largest user of oil.

Collapsing oil prices mean producing nations will face something they may not have planned for: budget deficits 4. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter. But it expects a budget deficit 3 in two thousand nine — its first in six years.
 






Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum 5 in Moscow Tuesday




Russia, the world's second largest exporter, also predicts a budget deficit next year. Some nations depend on oil exports more than others. For example, oil provides eighty percent of Iran's foreign income.

Oil was not the only energy resource in the news recently. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that a period of low natural gas prices is coming to a close. Mister Putin spoke 6 at a meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow. The fourteen-member group includes Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

Currently, natural gas is transported through pipelines 7 under long-term contracts. This limits the prices suppliers can charge. But the new process of liquefying natural gas may change that. Mister Putin said liquefied natural gas has become an expanding industry that requires new investment in processing centers.

Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said the Gas Exporting Countries Forum will have more power over prices as the world market becomes more developed.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.



1 collapsing
压扁[平],毁坏,断裂
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。
2 petroleum
n.原油,石油
  • The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
  • The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。
3 deficit
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
4 deficits
n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 );赤字;亏空;亏损
  • The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句
5 forum
n.论坛,讨论会
  • They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
  • The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。
6 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 pipelines
管道( pipeline的名词复数 ); 输油管道; 在考虑(或规划、准备) 中; 在酿中
  • The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
  • The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。
学英语单词
(fish) bait
actinomycetes
Aldea del Cano
approval of import
apronsful
arteriae alveolares maxillare anteriores
backburn
basedowoid
be nothing if not
Beardmore Res.
bedewers
blacolite
branch of tympanic membrane
broken-up
bultitude
cantier
car trouble
Chrysippus
collembolans
collision tumor
connected-speech understanding capability
cord pendant lamp
crank shaft timing gear
crepe fabric
debouchures
delayed perception
depthwise taper
dhoby
dimethylarsinic acid
earthworker
electric switchboard
enchondrosarcoma
flat pin receptacle
forced convection
full-power circuit
hand-raked roaster
hdl-c
helical Bourdon tube
impact penetration tester
impoverishment
Inco chrome nickel
inertia delay
integrated band absorption
interest in dividends
interlinguistic
IVDC
larus crassirostris
level variable resistor
lumbered with
lysidin(e)
machinery fitting
material purchase contract
Methuselahs
mirror fugue
misrecord
mistura kaolini
monoalkoxides
multicomputer environment
natural balance
navigation station
Nephelium chryseum
nesteia
noctovisors
nonfulfil(l)ment
nose-bleeds
Ozi
Pachycentria
pantomime dame
plate boundary
pontoon bridge
Populus xiaohei
quick correct plug-in
raw material supply department
rebaptises
reflecting segment
reminisce
robert scotts
scien
sclc-v
software framework
spot trading of gold
structural base level
swim-suit
tank breathing diaphragm
tarr
tech reqs
tender issue of treasury bill
terphenyllin
the prime of the moon
thermionic emission current
time-sharing control task
to nibble
treatment for obesity
tubby
unclassified technical
us -infested
verifiable secure operating system
wailing wall of the jews
welfare dependency
West Indy
wet-end
yellow jerseys