2006年VOA标准英语-G-8 Ministers Warn High Energy Prices Threaten

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
10 June 2006
 
Group of Eight finance ministers meeting in Russia say world economic growth continues, but they warned it is threatened by soaring costs for oil and gas. The ministers met in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg, where the G-8 summit will be held next month.

-----------------------------------------------

The G-8 ministers called for a coordinated¹ response to high energy costs, which they say pose a threat to economic growth around the world.

In a statement at the end of their two-day meeting, the ministers called for action both by energy-producing and energy-consuming nations, as oil prices hover² around $70 a barrel.

Proposed measures would include increased investment in the energy sector³, increased fuel efficiency and a common global standard for reporting oil reserves.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin underscored this in comments after the meeting ended. He said that stability in the energy market is a question not just of those who produce oil and gas, but of those who consume as well.

The ministers, from the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Britain and Germany and Russia, also discussed the difficult issue of a long-delayed agreement, which would regulate energy trade between Russia and the European Union.

The EU wants Moscow to sign an energy charter that would allow for foreign investment in the oil and gas pipeline⁴ sector that is currently controlled by the giant gas monopoly, Gazprom.

Russia has refused to agree to this, arguing that it wants more access to invest in energy markets in western Europe.

About one-fourth of the EU's natural gas supplies come from Russia, and a cut-off of supplies, amid a price dispute with neighboring Ukraine in January, shook confidence in Russia as a reliable source of energy.

Senior officials from various other nations including Australia, Brazil, China and India joined the ministers for their meeting on Saturday.

They declared opposition⁵ to protectionism, and called for more progress in the current Doha round of trade talks aimed at liberalizing the world market for goods and services in agriculture and industry.

The United States and European Union have come under strong pressure to ease official subsidies⁶ to agriculture that developing nations say hurt their economies. Washington and Brussels argue that other nations must open up their markets to industrial goods and services

1 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 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。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 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》