美国有线新闻 CNN 油罐车司机荒 美加油站恐大缺油

All that's a direct impact of the response to coronavirus. Among it's strange and unpredicted ripple¹ effects, a possible shortage of gasoline.

阿祖兹：所有这些都是应对冠状病毒的直接影响。这其中有一个奇怪且未曾预料的连锁反应，即汽油可能会短缺。

It's not because there's less crude oil or a find gas to buy.

这并不是因为原油或天然气供应减少。

It's because there's a shortage of truck drivers needed to get that gas to the stations.

而是因为缺少将汽油送到加油站的卡车司机。

The National Tank Truck Carriers, an industry trade group,

美国国家油罐车运输公司是一个工业贸易组织，

says roughly 20 to 25 percent of tanker² trucks are parked right now because there aren't enough qualified³ drivers to run them.

该组织表示目前有约20%到25%的油罐车处于闲置状态，因为没有足够的合格司机来驾驶。

That number was 10 percent before coronavirus hit. Where did the drivers go?

在冠状病毒来袭之前，这个数字是10%。司机们去哪了？

When the shutdowns occurred last year, there was very little demand for gasoline, so without work many drivers left the industry.

去年停工停产期间，对汽油的需求变得很少，因此许多司机因没有工作而离开了这个行业。

Some took other jobs, some retired⁴.

有些人从事其他工作，有些人则退休了。

Driver schools were shut down so there's been a delay in the qualified workers that come out of those

驾校被关闭，合格驾驶员的选拔因此而延迟，

and there are new safety rules in place that have reduced the number of drivers.

而且新安全规则的实施也减少了司机的数量。

Tanker companies are raising pay to attract new workers but that increases prices for customers.

油罐车公司正在提高工资以吸引新司机，但这同时也增加了客户的费用。

So as the summer driving season heats up, experts say higher gas prices are almost certain and gas shortages are possible.

因此，专家表示，随着夏季驾驶季的升温，油价上涨几乎是必然的，汽油短缺也可能会出现。

1 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

2 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

3 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。