2006年VOA标准英语-Gasoline Shortages Frustrate Iraqis

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
06 July 2006

It is an irony¹ of Iraqi life, that the country with the world's second-largest proven oil reserves must import petroleum² products, and has a thriving black market for gasoline.  The high cost of gas is driving up prices on everything from produce to appliances, and Iraqis are frustrated³.

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Taxis receive 40 liters of gas every five days   
  
Under the blazing mid-day sun, taxis idle by the side of the road in the mostly Kurdish city of Irbil.  They are waiting for their allotment of gasoline. 

Adam says he has been waiting for an hour-and-a-half to fill his tank.

"Forty liters is only enough for one day, and when I run out, I have to buy gasoline on the black market," he said.  He added that he pays about $15 for 20 liters on the black market; a hefty sum for a man who earns only about $200 per month.

But as a taxi driver, Adam is doing better than many other Iraqis.  Taxis are allowed 40 liters every five days, but private cars are only allowed to fill up every seven days.  Gas station prices are set by the government, and taxi drivers receive a discount of a few cents per liter. 

 
Motorists often wait hours for gasoline 
  
Saleh Agha Miran owns the gas station where the taxis are waiting to fill up.  The amount of gasoline he gets is controlled by the government, and, when he runs out, he has to close his station until the next delivery.

"If you want to know the truth, the whole city depends on the black market," he said.

Saleh noted⁴ that if smugglers did not supply the city, life would stop.

Iraqis need the fuel, not only for their cars, but also for cooking and to power generators⁵.  With government electricity in short supply across most of the country, generators are essential, especially in summer heat, which can rise above 50 degrees centigrade.

Iraq gas station   
  
At another gas station across town, this one for private cars, Ismail waits.

"This is not a life; we do not have fuel, we do not have electricity," he complained.  He said that black market prices are high and gas stations are sold out.

A new report from the Iraqi government says refinery⁶ output has declined between 40 percent and 60 percent since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.  Refineries⁷ are often the target of sabotage⁸, and are in need of extensive rehabilitation⁹.  Spare parts are also in short supply, and there are technical problems to resolve.

What Iraq does produce is sold on the open market, leaving Iraqis to rely a great deal on imported petroleum products.  Many of those products come from neighboring Turkey.

 
Trucks wait days at the Iraq-Turkey border
  
At the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing between northern Iraq and Turkey, the lines of trucks stretch for kilometers on both sides of the border.

A truck driver told VOA that he has been waiting on the Iraqi side of the border for eight days to take his empty fuel tanker¹⁰ back to Turkey.  He says he expects his roundtrip will take a month in total.  Many drivers complain that they make no money by the time they pay their travel expenses, and the customs duties on their cargo¹¹.

Many Iraqis blame Turkey for the lines at the border, saying their neighbor intentionally¹² closes the crossing to cause them headaches.  Whether purposeful or not, such delays only further aggravate¹³ the shortage of gasoline.

Back in Irbil, Sadiq sits in the trailer that serves as his office, counting wads of cash - the proceeds from his illicit¹⁴ gasoline business.

The black market functions very openly, with smugglers together on a big lot filled with oil tanks and makeshift offices.  On city sidewalks, young men and boys, sell 20-liter jugs¹⁵ of black market gasoline to passing motorists.

Sadiq, the black marketer, says the work is dangerous but lucrative¹⁶.

"If the smugglers did not bring gasoline from Syria or Iran, the price would be very high, and no one would be able to buy it," he said.  He added that there are not enough refineries to meet demand.

Iraq's central government is working to address the shortages, but until then Sadiq and his fellow smugglers are likely to continue profiting.

1 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

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 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

7 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

8 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

9 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

10 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

11 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

12 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

13 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

14 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

15 jugs   

（有柄及小口的）水壶( jug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two china jugs held steaming gravy. 两个瓷罐子装着热气腾腾的肉卤。
• Jugs-Big wall lingo for Jumars or any other type of ascenders. 大岩壁术语，祝玛式上升器或其它种类的上升器。

16 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。