VOA常速英语2008年-Russia's Gazprom to Further Cut Gas Supplies to

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
04 March 2008

The government of Ukraine will meet Wednesday to consider options in the face further reductions in natural gas deliveries from Russia. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports that Russia's state-run energy giant, Gazprom, is assuring customers in Europe that their supplies will not be affected¹.

Speaking at a morning news conference in the Russian capital, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said the company would reduce Ukraine's gas supplies by another 25 percent Tuesday evening. It follows a similar cut on Monday.

Kupriyanov says the Gazprom decision is based on lack of progress in Russian-Ukrainian talks and the absence of signed contracts with Ukraine's Naftogaz energy company.

Kupriyanov said gas supplies which transit² through Ukraine to Europe will remain at full capacity, nearly 357 million cubic meters, per day.

On Monday, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of failing to pay his country as much as $700 million in pipeline³ transit fees for gas deliveries to Europe.

The energy advisor⁴ for Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, parliamentarian Oleksiy Hudyma, says his country is fully⁵ prepared to pay for the gas it consumes. But he says there is no one to pay, because Gazprom is refusing to sign a contract that would eliminate intermediaries.

In remarks to VOA, Hudyma noted⁶ the presidents of Ukraine and Russia agreed last month to direct deliveries of gas.

The energy advisor says there are two intermediaries, which the government and people of Ukraine do not want - RosUkrEnergo and UkrGazEnergo. He says these companies have taken billions of dollars out of the Ukrainian economy in recent years. Hudyma accuses Russia of being less prepared for talks than Ukraine.

Gazprom owns 50 percent of RosUkrEnergo, a company registered in Switzerland. The other half is owned by two Ukrainian businessmen. UkrGazEnergo is joint⁷ venture between Ukraine's biggest gas supplier, Naftogaz of Ukraine, and RosUkrEnergo.

The Tymoshenko government says the arrangements are costly⁸, not transparent⁹, and corrupt¹⁰.

Meanwhile, the gas issue has become a political football in Ukraine. The opposition¹¹ Regions Party issued a statement on its website accusing the Tymoshenko government of excessive ambition, which Ukrainians will pay for through closed factories, unemployment, and cold homes.

Oleksiy Hudyma says the previous government of Viktor Yanukovcyh, the head of the Regions Party, did not leave Ukraine with substantial energy reserves. But Hudyma notes that temperatures are unseasonably warm, and Ukrainians have the discipline to see through this latest energy crisis.

In 2006, European gas deliveries suffered after Russia cut Ukraine's supplies during a debt dispute.

1 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。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 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。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 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。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 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。

9 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 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。