2006年VOA标准英语-As Many as 200 Dead in Nigerian Pipeline E

By Franz Wild
Abidjan
12 May 2006

Local youths walk on oil pipeline¹ belonging to the Shell Oil company in Nigeria  
  
Nigerian police say a pipeline explosion has killed as many as 200 people on the outskirts² of Nigeria's largest city, Lagos. They believe oil thieves were tapping the pipeline when the blast happened.

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Nigerian police said the explosion on Friday was an accident.

They said vandals had probably cut into the pipeline at llado, near Lagos, to steal oil, when a spark set off the explosion, which spread to 500 jerrycans full of oil nearby.

Police on the scene said at least 150 people were killed, many were incinerated immediately.

Lagos-based journalist Paul Okolo tells VOA that accidents of this nature are not unusual in Nigeria.

"People were scooping³ fuel from a leak," said Okolo.  "Whenever there is a burst pipe or they deliberately⁴ cut the pipe, people go and take fuel, either to resell or to use themselves. And that is when the accident happened."

Tapping into pipelines⁵ to steal oil is known as bunkering. It is estimated that it costs Nigeria 200,000 barrels of oil a day. With a mere⁶ spark sufficient to set the oil alight, bunkering frequently results in a lethal⁷ explosion.  Nigeria has suffered more than ten in the last seven years.

In a bid to diversify⁸ the economy along International Monetary⁹ Fund guidelines, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has cut fuel subsidies¹⁰, leading to pump price hikes. The increases have been especially acute in recent weeks.

Journalist Okolo says many Nigerians are too poor to pay for these increases. He says many resort to bunkering.

"Poverty is a big issue in Nigeria," he added.  "A lot of people cannot afford to buy fuel. It now costs 65 Naira a liter, which is a bit less than 50 cents. That is a lot of money here. People will do anything to get it for less."

The blast came on the same day that three foreign oil workers were released in Nigeria's oil capital Port Harcourt after having been taken hostage for a day.  Militants¹¹ in the oil-rich Niger Delta¹² region say they are not benefiting from Nigeria's substantial oil trade.

1 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。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 scooping   

n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
• The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网

4 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

5 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 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。

9 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。