VOA常速英语2013--Price of Oil Hits $100 a Barrel 油价达到每桶100美元

 

Price of Oil Hits $100 a Barrel 油价达到每桶100美元

The price for a barrel of oil rose above $100 Friday amid concerns over instability in Libya and South Sudan, plus a growing U.S. demand for fuel.

周五每桶石油的价格涨到100美元以上，同时利比亚和南苏丹动乱及美国对燃料需求的增加又引发担忧。

Fighting in South Sudan and erratic¹ oil production in Libya are having a ripple² effect on the global oil market.

南苏丹的战斗和利比亚石油产量不稳定对全球石油市场产生了连带效应。

South Sudan army soldiers hold their weapons as they ride on a truck in Bor, Dec. 25, 2013.

John Kingston, director of news for Platts, a leading energy information company, said, “The big, broad, fundamental picture does look like there’s more oil on the  world [market] than is necessary. But you continue to have several hotspots that are keeping the market tight and keeping the market a little bit on edge. Libyan  output’s been fluctuating. Sometimes it gets almost up to 500,000 barrels a day. Sometimes it’s closer to 100,000 barrels a day. But this is a country that should be  producing about 1.5 -1.6-million barrels a day. Now you’ve got South Sudan, which is a relatively³ small producer, but again it could be a cutback in a market that  does have a lot of these geo-political concerns.”

约翰·金斯顿是著名的能源资讯公司普拉茨的新闻主任，“从广泛、基本的情况来看似乎全世界的石油比所需要的多，但有几个热点地区使得市场紧张，利比亚的产出一直不稳定，有时每天 多达50万桶，有时将近10万桶。但这个国家原本可以每天产出150到160万桶的，现在南苏丹这个相对小的产出国的产出也减少了，这就引发了对地缘政治的担忧。”

Some of the fighting in South Sudan is in Unity⁴ State, which produces about 45,000 to 50,000 barrels a day. That’s out of a total output for South Sudan of 250,000  barrels a day. Kingston said that’s a relatively small output compared to other oil producing nations. Nevertheless, he said the combination of problems in the two  countries has affected⁵ the market.

南苏丹的部分战斗发生在统一州，这里每天的产出是4.5万到5万桶，南苏丹每天的总产量是25万桶。金斯顿说相对于其他石油产出国这个产量较小，然而他说，这两个国家的问题加在一起就 对市场产生了影响。

“You’ve also got other things,” he said, “You’ve got rising interest rates, which tend to be a booster of commodities. U.S. demand is starting to show real signs  of strength. It’s up about a million barrels a day – year on year – and the estimates now are that fourth quarter growth in GDP might be three to four percent,  which is pretty strong. So, you throw all these together in this plunging⁶ market that everyone was talking about a few weeks ago, a month ago, it’s got too many  things that are preventing it from plunging.”

“这样就造成问题了，利率上升了，这对商品来说是个激励。美国的需求量显示出强劲的迹象，每天需求量约100万桶，估计第四季度的GDP增长率为3%-4%，非常强劲。所以这些因素加在一起 ，就像我们一个月前谈到的那样，太多的因素使得价格不会下跌。”

Kingston said that the oil market is not like the stock market, which can fluctuate wildly upon hearing rumors⁷.

金斯顿说石油市场和股票市场不同，股票市场会因流言剧烈波动。

1 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

2 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 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。

6 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》