VOA慢速英语2021 美国释放战略石油储备以降低油价

The administration of American President Joe Biden said it would release 50 million barrels of oil from the United States emergency oil supply.

美国总统乔·拜登表示，美国将从紧急石油储备中释放出5000万桶石油。

It said the move was done in partnership¹ with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain to bring down oil prices.

政府表示，此举是跟中国、印度、韩国、日本以及英国合作完成，目的是降低油价。

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum² Reserve is an emergency supply of oil in case of natural disasters, national security incidents and other events. It is maintained by the Energy Department. It is estimated that there are about 605 million barrels of oil in the reserve.

美国战略石油储备是在发生自然灾害、国家安全事件等情况下的一种紧急石油储备。它由美国能源部维护。据估计该储备约有6.05亿桶石油。

The release is meant to lower fuel costs and serve as a warning to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC is a group of 15 mostly Persian Gulf³ countries. The U.S. and other major oil users believe high prices could slow the global economy's recovery from the pandemic.

此次释放储备旨在降低燃油成本，并向石油输出国组织（欧佩克）发出警告。欧佩克是由15个主体为波斯湾国家组成的组织。美国和其它主要石油消费国认为，高油价可能会减缓全球经济从大流行中的复苏。

The move is also aimed at U.S. voters who are dealing⁴ with high inflation and rising gas prices ahead of winter holiday travel. Gasoline prices are, on average, more than 50 percent higher than a year ago, the American Automobile⁵ Association said.

此举还瞄准了在冬季假期旅行前应对高通胀和油价上涨的美国选民。美国汽车协会表示，汽油价格平均比一年前高出了50%以上。

The U.S. announcement of 50 million barrels is equal to about two and a half days of U.S. demand. India said it would release 5 million barrels from its supply and Britain 1.5 million barrels.

美国宣布的5000万桶石油大概相当于美国两天半的需求量。印度表示将从其储备中释放500万桶，英国将释放150万桶。

Officials said it was the first time that the United States had made such a move with some of the world's largest oil users. The release of the reserves would be a mix of an exchange and a sale to companies that Congress approved, American officials said.

有关官员表示，这是美国首次与全球最大的一些石油消费国联手采取这样的行动。美国官员表示，释放的石油储备将会通过交换和销售结合提供给国会批准的公司。

The actions by the U.S. and other nations risk angering some countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Russia. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have made clear that they want to control the oil supply to keep prices high for now. There have been warnings that those countries may back away from promises to increase supplies in coming months.

美国等国的行动可能会激怒一些国家，尤其是沙特和俄罗斯。沙特和其它海湾国家已明确表示，他们眼下希望控制石油供应以维持高价。有警告称，这些国家可能会放弃未来几个月增加供应的承诺。

The Biden administration decision comes after weeks of diplomatic talks. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping talked about ways to deal with oil supplies in their online meeting earlier this month. The two "discussed the importance of taking measures to address global energy supplies," the administration said.

拜登政府的决定是在经过数周的外交谈判之后做出的。拜登和中国国家主席习近平在本月初的视频会议上讨论了应对石油供应的办法。美国政府表示，两人“讨论了采取措施解决全球能源供应问题的重要性。”

The pandemic severely⁶ affected⁷ energy markets. As business closures began in April, 2020, demand fell. Energy traders did not want to buy large amounts of oil that they could not store. But as the economy recovered, prices jumped to a seven-year high in October.

大流行严重影响了能源市场。随着2020年4月开始的企业停业，需求下降。能源交易商不想购买他们无法储备的大量石油。但是随着经济复苏，石油价格在10月份跃升至7年以来的高位。

Experts say releasing reserves may not be enough to prevent continuing price increases.

专家表示，释放石油储备可能不足以阻止价格持续上涨。

"It's not large enough to bring down prices in a meaningful way and may even backfire" if OPEC countries slow their supply of oil, Caroline Bain told Reuters. She is an economist⁸ at Capital Economics, a research business.

卡罗琳·贝恩对路透社表示，如果欧佩克国家减缓石油供应，“那么释放石油储备不足以给油价带来有意义的降价，甚至可能会适得其反。”她是凯投宏观的经济学家，这是一家研究公司。

Biden and administration officials said that releasing more oil from the reserve is not in conflict with the president's long-term climate goals. They said the release is a short-term answer to a current problem. Climate policies are a long-term answer over many years, they said.

拜登和政府官员表示，释放更多石油储备跟总统的长期气候目标并不冲突。他们表示，这次释放是对当前问题的短期解决方案。他们表示，气候政策是多年来的长期解决方案。

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 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。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 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。