VOA慢速英语2014 俄罗斯使得乌克兰能源成本提高 AS IT IS 2014-04-18 Russia Increases Energy Costs for Ukraine

 

AS IT IS 2014-04-18 Russia Increases Energy Costs for Ukraine 俄罗斯使得乌克兰能源成本提高 

Hello, once again, and welcome.  I’m Jim Tedder¹ in Washington.  It’s time to learn and improve your American English and learn about the world at the same time.

Today politics and energy mix.  First we will hear how Russia is increasing the price of natural gas in Ukraine.  Can the United States come to the rescue? 

Then the United Nations says the world must act faster to keep climate change from doing more harm. 

As It Is …is on the air, from VOA!

Russia continues to increase the price of natural gas it sells to Ukraine. This has caused some countries to ask if natural gas from the U.S. could help Europe reduce or even end its dependence² on Russia for energy.  Experts say it would be a few years before such a plan could be put into place.

Jonathan Evans has been watching the story for us.          

Russia Continues to Increase Price of Natural Gas                                                                               

In their home near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, Svetlana Kuleshova and Yuri Kuleshov say they are being hurt by the increasing cost of natural gas from Russia.

 He says it will directly affect our budget.  We will simply stop buying all the things we are buying now, because in any case we will be forced to pay the gas bill as we have to at least heat the house in order not to freeze. We will start looking for alternatives, of course.

Many people who live in Europe have the same worries. Ukraine and six other European countries get all of their natural gas from Russia.

Igor Shuvalov is Russia’s first deputy prime minister. He says he is not worried about threats by those countries to buy natural gas from the United States. He says Russia can easily sell its natural gas to other countries. And he says it will be more costly³ for European countries to buy natural gas from the US.

“It will force Europeans to invest in new infrastructure⁴ to buy gas from the United States and other parts of the world. You will pay for this more. It will mean that the consumers will pay more, but Russian gas will be consumed by someone else in other areas of the world.”

American natural gas that flows through places like the eastern state of Maryland could help European countries, but not for a few years. At one of those terminals a new area is being built that will turn natural gas into liquid. Then the liquid can be shipped to Europe. But it is like similar plants being built in the US.  It will not be completed until 2017. And when it does open, the terminal in Maryland will send all its gas to India and Japan.

Energy expert Paul Bledsoe is a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He says other countries will provide natural gas to Europe before the U.S. does.

“The first places are going to be a southern pipeline⁵ from Central Asia, from North Africa, and from their own resources. What we’re talking about, though, is broadening the available resources globally for gas generally, essentially⁶ globalizing the natural gas market.”

Mr. Bledsoe says the United States should move quickly on request by European countries to import natural gas from the US. And he says the US should help Europe develop its own sources of natural gas from shale⁷ gas.

“What we’re really calling for is a joint⁸ US-EU plan on natural gas, to diversify⁹ the sources of gas for Europe, to reduce long-term prices, to cut emissions¹⁰ and cut dependence on Russia. There’s a tremendous opportunity here.”

Steve LeVine is a professor at Georgetown University in Washington and a fellow at the New America Foundation. He writes about energy for the website Quartz¹¹. He says it will be good for both Europe and the United States when Europe reduces its dependence on Russia.

“The impact of putting ((exporting)) all this gas, and the signal that it’s sending, is going to be to increase U.S. influence in the world, geopolitical influence from this natural gas.”

Professor LeVine says Russian President Vladimir Putin will then have to sell natural gas to China which will demand a lower price.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Action on Climate Change Cannot Wait

A United Nations report says countries should act faster to control the effects of climate change. It says we should change from burning fossil fuels like coal to cleaner energy sources.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, released the report this week after a meeting of scientists and representatives of governments. This follows the recent release of two other IPCC reports on climate change.

Those say what the group believes is the reality of climate change, and its effect on the environment.

Christopher Cruise takes the story from there.

The answer to the climate problem could start with a huge solar project in the Mohave Desert, in the western American state of California. A company called NRG Energy began operating the project in February. NRG Energy President David Crane says it will provide enough electricity for 140,000 homes. He says that is a good start.

“Our generation of leadership can get the ball rolling in fighting against climate change so that the next generation -- the people who are in their 20s and 30s today -- can finish the job.”

Rajendra Pachauri is the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He says projects like the one in California should be put in place worldwide. He says the report shows that is one way we can reduce climate change.

“If we really want to bring about a limitation of temperature increase to no more than two degrees Celsius¹², then this is the message that comes out very clearly from this report.”

The report says global greenhouse gas emissions must be lessened¹³ by 40 to 70 percent by the middle of this century. The goal is to prevent severe effects from strong weather events in a warmer world.

Nathaniel Koehane works at the Environmental Defense¹⁴ Fund. He leads efforts there to limit climate change. He told VOA on Skype that changes can be made that will help stop the severe effects of climate change.

“There are a handful of things -- around energy efficiency, renewable energy, reducing deforestation -- a handful of things that the world could do and we could help turn the corner by 2020 and get on track to reduce emissions enough to keep the climate safe.” 

Renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydropower create 8.5 percent of the world’s energy. Nuclear power creates about 11.5 percent.

Mr. Koehane says the report shows some countries are not making the change from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.

“When you look at the stats and the data in the report, it shows, for example, that coal has been growing faster than other sources. So we need to reverse that trend and we do need to rapidly ramp¹⁵ up the sources of renewable power, the share of renewable power.” 

The report says there will be a greater cost to public health and the environment if there continue to be delays in reducing emissions.

Mr. Koehane says voters must tell their leaders that reducing climate change is important to them. He says we have the knowledge and the technology to make changes. He is hopeful about the possibility of change.

“If we do get that political will and if we can push in that direction, that we have the technologies to get started on this problem. We just need everybody to pitch in.”

The report says there is still time for the international community to take actions to reduce climate change caused by human activity.

The U.N. is talking with countries about a new international agreement to reduce emissions worldwide. The agreement would take the place of the Kyoto Protocol¹⁶ on Climate Change, which ended in 2012.

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

6 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。

7 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

10 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

11 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

12 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

13 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

14 defense   

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。

15 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

16 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。