美国国家公共电台 NPR--Germany is preparing for a rough winter of sky-high energy costs

Germany is preparing for a rough winter of sky-high energy costs

Transcript¹

The German government is setting aside 5% of its annual GDP to help the country get through what promises to be a tough winter — as energy prices climb to unprecedented² levels.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The German government is setting aside 5% of its annual GDP to help the country get through what promises to be a tough winter, as energy prices are expected to climb to unprecedented levels. Particularly vulnerable is German industry, the backbone³ of the country's economy. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports from the factory floor.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁴: It's metal as far as the eye can see at the Thoma Metal refinery⁵ in rural Bavaria. In one corner, there's a box full of nuts and bolts the size of baseball bats ready to be shipped to Dubai to build a skyscraper⁶, and in another, polished stainless-steel tubes that'll be used inside a commercial jet. Andrea Thoma-Bock oversees⁷ all of this.

ANDREA THOMA-BOCK: (Through interpreter) We finish every type of metal. When you turn the taps in the bathroom in the morning, you're touching⁸ our work. When you get in your car, when you board a plane - people don't know us, but they use our products on a daily basis.

SCHMITZ: The same could be said for the thousands of Germany's so-called Mittelstand companies, small- to medium-sized privately⁹ owned family firms that make up the backbone of Europe's largest economy. And Thoma-Bock says they're in real danger.

THOMA-BOCK: (Through interpreter) We're an energy-intensive business. But with the war in Ukraine, things have reached another dimension. Our electricity prices have gone up by a factor of more than 10. We used to pay 4 cents a kilowatt¹⁰ hour. Now we're paying 57 cents.

SCHMITZ: Thoma-Bock's company, which has been in her family for nearly a century, is spending $3 million more on energy this year than it did last year. And this, she fears, is just the beginning.

THOMA-BOCK: (Through interpreter) Everyone is dreading¹¹ the last day of this year, when a lot of energy contracts for businesses will run out. There are businesses who have contracts for next year. But for the rest of us, the prices are going to be astronomical¹². This is how businesses shut down.

SCHMITZ: Disruptions in the flow of natural gas from Russia, now made permanent by explosions that ripped apart two pipelines¹³ that connect Germany to Russia, have pushed up prices to record levels. Inflation in the country hit a 70-year high of nearly 11% in September.

MARCEL FRATZSCHER: In many ways, it's a problem because companies don't know whether they can actually pass on higher costs to consumers and other companies that demand their products.

SCHMITZ: Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research, says Germany's Mittelstand companies, whose quality have assured them a competitive position on the global market, will soon be undercut on price.

FRATZSCHER: Energy prices, gas prices have increased for European and for German companies a lot more than for American or Chinese or Korean or Japanese companies. And that is a big challenge particular for such an open economy as Germany, which relies a lot on trade and competition in global markets.

SCHMITZ: But according to a business survey conducted by economist¹⁴ Andreas Peichl, more than half of German Mittelstand companies should be able to pass on higher costs to their customers simply because they produce specialized¹⁵ products that few other global companies produce, essentially¹⁶ cornering the market for these goods.

ANDREAS PEICHL: And of course, if they have market power, then maybe this is easier to do so. And so there will be some firms who won't survive this. But then, maybe that's part of the market economy.

SCHMITZ: Back on the factory floor, Andrea Thoma-Bock isn't so confident.

THOMA-BOCK: (Through interpreter) At some point, nobody is going to be interested in the products we export because they'll be too expensive. Politicians have had a year to watch this, yet they seem blind to this.

SCHMITZ: Last week, Germany's government announced it'll set aside at least 200 billion, 5% of its GDP, to help limit rising energy prices. But they haven't yet worked out how they'll do that.

Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Bavaria.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAVES OF STEEL'S "TRANSVERSE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

6 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

7 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 kilowatt   

n.千瓦

参考例句：

• They pay thirty fen per kilowatt hour.他们每度电付三角钱。
• The watt is a small unit of power so that we use the kilowatt instead.瓦特是小功率的单位，因此我们用千瓦代之。

11 dreading   

v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was dreading having to broach the subject of money to her father. 她正在为不得不向父亲提出钱的事犯愁。
• This was the moment he had been dreading. 这是他一直最担心的时刻。

12 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

13 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

参考例句：

• 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。

14 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

15 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

16 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。