英伦广角 2011-03-28 油价飙升威胁经济发展

Once again, the cost of fuel is a major issue on budget day. But while drivers complain, many hauliers say the high prices are threatening their survival.

This company in Northampton runs 65 lorries. Every time they fill up, they cost an extra 230 pounds compared with last year’s prices. They definitely don’t want another fuel duty rise.

"We need some relief; we need some help as an industry. You know, it could be another British industry down the pan if we're not very careful. "

The record high prices are having a major effect on almost all sect¹. of the economy. These leather wholesalers use EM Rogers to transport their goods. They do pay a fuel surcharge, and just like the hauliers, feel pressured not to pass that on to their customers.

"It’s making us buy more and more volumes in order to keep the price per square foot as low as we can. By doing that, we have to carry huge amounts more of leather. This means some customers will take some of the stock and leave us with some of the stock. Ur, they take over a longer period, we have to borrow more money from banks, which, in the long term, just puts our overheads up, up, up."

It’s likely the Chancellor² will delay the planned inflation plus 1p increase. But as prices keep rising, will that be enough?

The petrol stations themselves are among those feeling the pain even at these eye-wateringly high prices. A profit margin³ on a litre of diesel⁴ is less than 2%. This forecourt in Northampton has consciously cut its profits in order to keep customers, but that's only had limited success.

"People coming may moan about the price. Rightly so, it is expensive, but we have to charge a little bit more than we pay for it, to make a living really."

The uncertainty⁵ in the Middle-East means oil prices are likely to stay high whatever the chancellor does. Politically though, his decision on fuel duty has taken on added significance.

Darren Little, Sky News. Northampton.

1 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。