VOA慢速英语--美国创下30年来能源使用最低纪录

Government officials say the United States is using less energy than it has in thirty years.

The officials noted¹ that this was because much of the nation's economy has been shut down by measures meant to contain the new coronavirus.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report that reduced demand for coal, gasoline and jet fuel drove the decrease.

The numbers were similar in countries around the world where energy use has fallen. Those trends are expected to turn around as commercial activity restarts. But a decline in U.S. and worldwide greenhouse gas emissions² is expected. Greenhouse gases are gasses in the atmosphere that trap heat and are believed to cause rising temperatures.

Overall U.S. energy usage dropped 14 percent during April compared to the same time a year earlier, the energy administration said. That is the lowest monthly level since 1989. It is also the largest decrease ever recorded since the government began collecting the data in 1973.

Before April, the largest drop was in December 2001. That period followed the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. which shocked the economy. A mild winter also depressed³ demand for electricity.

Not all forms of energy, however, have had decreases. Natural gas usage did not follow the trend and increased by 15 percent during April. Lockdown or stay-at-home orders may have played a part in the increase.

Petroleum⁴ use fell to 14.7 million barrels a day in April, down almost a third compared to the same period last year. However, demand already has rebounded⁶ after stay-at-home orders ended and large parts of the economy started moving again.

Americans are driving again

People appear to be returning to their old driving habits. Petroleum use in June was back up to 17.6 million barrels a day. That number comes from the American Petroleum Institute. However, the group noted that new drilling activity continues to be weak.

Oil exploration has decreased for seven straight months as stockpiles of oil and petroleum products remain near record levels.

"While we are not out of the woods yet, we do appear to be headed in the right direction," said Dean Foreman, the industry group's chief economist⁷.

Coal companies are expected to have more difficulty than petroleum producers in recovering from the coronavirus crisis. The industry has been decreasing since 2007 although President Donald Trump⁸ has sought to support it.

Coal use fell 27 percent in April compared to the same period in 2019. Most coal produced in the U.S. is used to create electricity, but many electricity producers have switched to less costly⁹ natural gas and renewables: wind and solar.

The energy administration predicts that all energy usage will remain below 2019 levels for the rest of the year.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Words in This Story

trend –n. the general direction in which something is moving

rebound⁵ –v. to bounce back to an earlier level, to improve to where it once was

stockpile –n. a surplus supply kept to prevent a future shortage

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 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。

3 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

6 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

7 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。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 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。