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2007年VOA标准英语-Largest Private Contractor in Iraq to Move Head

时间:2007-05-28 01:15:36

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By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, D.C.
14 March 2007
 
watch Halliburton report

Halliburton, an American oil services company and the largest private contractor2 in Iraq, is moving its corporate3 headquarters from Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.  Halliburton's chief executive says the move is a practical matter, but critics are accusing the company of greed.   VOA's Peter Fedynsky has this report.

 
Dubai
Last year, the eastern hemisphere accounted for 38 per cent of the $13 billion in revenue from Halliburton's oil field services around the globe.   Chief Executive David Lesar says growing the business in a region where most of the oil is located "will bring balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio4."

In an interview three years ago, Lesar described parts of that portfolio. "We're building a road in Ireland, we're running a railroad in Australia, we're building ships in Brazil."

And Halliburton has a five-year, $16 billion contract to provide various services to the U.S. military.  But the corporation is under investigation5 for allegedly overbilling the U.S. government by nearly $3 billion.  Halliburton denies the charges, but congressional Democrats7 are looking into them.

 
Democratic Congressman8 Henry Waxman
Congressman Henry Waxman of California said recently, "Our committee has an absolute obligation to the taxpayers9 to make sure their tax dollars are well spent and not siphoned off into billions of dollars of unnecessary overhead."

And Senator Brian Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat6, suspects Halliburton is relocating in Dubai to avoid paying U.S. taxes. "If they're trying to move offshore10 to save money in taxes, that's not much of a statement coming from a company that's been benefiting from substantial defense11 contracts."

Halliburton says it will remain registered in the United States, so it will be obligated to pay taxes. 

American University business professor Kathleen Getz says Halliburton's move to Dubai is a smart decision. "Since Halliburton is an oil exploration company, it is logical for it to be in the Middle East, where there is a lot of oil."

Questions are also being raised whether a company with headquarters overseas can be trusted to provide services to the U.S. military. 

Halliburton was run by Dick Cheney before he became the U.S. vice1 president.  Cheney's connection led to accusations12 that the Bush administration awarded lucrative13 no-bid contracts to the company. The White House denied the charge.


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1 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
2 contractor GnZyO     
n.订约人,承包人,收缩肌
参考例句:
  • The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
  • The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样,有几分要看地势而定。
3 corporate 7olzl     
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的
参考例句:
  • This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
  • His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
4 portfolio 9OzxZ     
n.公事包;文件夹;大臣及部长职位
参考例句:
  • He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
  • He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。
5 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
6 democrat Xmkzf     
n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员
参考例句:
  • The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
  • About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后,他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。
7 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 Congressman TvMzt7     
n.(美)国会议员
参考例句:
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
9 taxpayers 8fa061caeafce8edc9456e95d19c84b4     
纳税人,纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
  • She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。
10 offshore FIux8     
adj.海面的,吹向海面的;adv.向海面
参考例句:
  • A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
  • A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。
11 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
12 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
13 lucrative dADxp     
adj.赚钱的,可获利的
参考例句:
  • He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
  • It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

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