PBS高端访谈:美国多地加油站出现"闹油荒",民众疯狂抢油

The Biden administration says that it is trying to help mitigate¹ the impact of fuel shortages and supply issues after a cyberattack disrupted the Colonial Pipeline².

拜登政府表示，在一次网络攻击中断殖民输油管道后，政府正试图帮助缓解燃料短缺和供应问题的影响。

The pipeline, which supplies to 45 percent of the Southeast, is still shut down five days later.

这条输油管道供应东南部45%的地区，五天后将仍处于关闭状态。

We're going to look at this story in two parts tonight, the impact on gasoline and questions about who's behind it.

今晚我们将分两部分来看这件事：该事件对汽油的影响以及幕后黑手的问题。

Amna Nawaz begins with a look at concerns over supply, demand and prices.

阿姆纳·纳瓦兹首先来跟我们讲讲人们对供应、需求和价格的担忧。

Judy, a number of gas stations in the South are running out of fuel as drivers rush out to fill up their tanks.

朱迪，南部地区一些加油站的汽油快用完了，因为司机们都急着去加油。

Videos of long lines and reports of shortages are popping up in states served by the Colonial Pipeline, and prices at the pump are rising a bit as well.

在殖民输油管道服务的各州，排长队的视频和短缺的报道不断出现，加油站的价格也在上涨。

Officials, including Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama, are urging consumers to only buy what they need.

包括阿拉巴马州州长艾维在内的官员敦促消费者只需购买所需。

To understand more about what's happening, we turn to Tom Kloza, head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service.

为了更多地了解正在发生的事情，我们求助了油价资讯服务公司能源分析的主管汤姆·克洛萨。

Tom Kloza, welcome to the "NewsHour." Let's start with this Colonial Pipeline. Just to set the table, what is the significance of this one pipeline when it comes to fuel supply here in the U.S.?

汤姆·克洛萨，欢迎来到“新闻一小时”节目，咱们先来聊聊殖民管道吧。首先，这条管道对美国燃料供应的意义是什么？

Well, it is the biggest fuel pipeline, by far, in North America.

嗯，它是目前北美最大的燃料管道，

And it moves product probably about 45 percent of the population essentially³ from Texas all the way up to New Jersey⁴, and including Tennessee with a spur line.

将大约占总人口45%的货物从德克萨斯一路运送到新泽西，包括田纳西和一条支线。

So, it is the major artery⁵ to supply gasoline, diesel⁶, and jet fuel.

所以，它是供应汽油、柴油和航空燃料的主动脉。

So let's get to some of these videos and the reports that people have been seeing, shortages and outages in a number of Southern states,

咱们来看一些大家看到的视频和报道，在一些南部州，

Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, where just today the governor declared a state of emergency.

佛罗里达、乔治亚、阿拉巴马、南卡罗来纳、北卡罗来纳、田纳西州和弗吉尼亚州，州长今天已经宣布进入紧急状态。

What is going on here? Are there actual fuel shortages, or is it panic buying?

这是怎么回事呢？是真的出现了燃料短缺，还是出现了恐慌性抢购？

I would say it is mostly panic buying. And I hesitate to use the word shortage, because, usually, that is like yelling fire in a crowded theater. It is a scramble⁷.

我认为主要是恐慌性抢购。我不太愿意用“短缺”这个词，因为，通常，它就像在拥挤的剧院里大喊失火，是一场混战。

But there is plenty of gasoline and there's plenty of oil in North America and in the United States. And we have got extra refining capacity, and we're going to be able to import fuel.

但北美和美国都有大量的汽油和石油。我们有额外的炼油能力，我们还能够进口燃料。

But this is kind of the coalescing⁸ of social media and the fear of missing out on gasoline.

这是社交媒体报道和人们担心买不到汽油的结果。

They say we're going to run out. And you're seeing that behavior. And the crowd is not making necessarily a wise decision.

他们说油快用完了，之后就出现了争抢行为，然而群众的决定不一定就是明智的。

Well, Tom, you say there's no real shortage. But, at the same time some states have said, we have had a slight 4 or 5 or 6 percent decrease in supply. So what should we understand about that?

好的，汤姆，你的意思就是并没有真的出现短缺。但是，现在，一些州说我们的供应有4%或5%或6%的轻微下降。这又应该怎么理解呢？

Well, we operate on very much a just-in-time inventory⁹ situation throughout the country.

嗯，我们在全国实行准时制库存。

But there were about 26 or 27 days' supply before Colonial shut down. It is vital. It's a vital artery.

在殖民输油管道关闭之前有大约26到27天的供应量，这是至关重要的，它是一条重要的动脉。

But the panic buying, in the sense that, oh, it's not going to be around or my station is going to run out, have really, really catalyzed¹⁰ what would have been an annoyance¹¹ or an inconvenience into sort of a crisis in some places.

但是恐慌性购买，在某种意义上说，什么油没有了啊、加油站要没油了啊……这真的将一些地方原本的烦恼或不便催化成了某种危机。

At the same time, a lot of folks are seeing some federal leaders stepping up and paying attention to this.

与此同时，很多人看到有一些联邦领导人站出来关注这个问题。

We saw the energy secretary today, the homeland security secretary address this from the White House podium.

我们今天看到能源部长，国土安全部长在白宫讲台上发表了讲话。

The EPA issued a fuel waiver, that state of emergency I mentioned from the Virginia governor. That sometimes makes people worry more.

环境保护署发布了一项燃料豁免，就是维吉尼亚州长说的紧急状态。这有时会让人们更加担心，

And they think maybe this is going to be a bigger problem, a prolonged shutdown. What would you say to those folks?

他们认为这可能会成为一个更大的问题，即输油管道会长期关闭。你想对这些人说些什么呢？

I would say government has acted fairly responsibly so far. And I think this is going to clear up if the pipeline gets going by the weekend, as they have indicated.

我想说，到目前为止，政府的行为相当负责。我认为，如果输油管道能像他们所说的那样在周末之前开工，问题就会得到解决。

The question is the term they expect to be significantly restored by the weekend. Well, is that by Sunday? Is it by Friday?

问题是，他们希望输油管道能在周末前得到显著恢复，嗯，所以是周日之前恢复？还是周五之前恢复？

And restoration, is that 80 percent, 50 or 60 percent? So that uncertainty¹² is -- has hurt.

另外恢复的程度是80%，还是50%或者60%？所以，这些不确定性就很头疼。

Tom, what about the impact on gas prices? What are we seeing there?

汤姆，那这件事对汽油价格的影响呢？我们能看到什么影响？

You know, this is not much of a gasoline pricing event. On Sunday night, the markets opened up about 6 cents higher in gasoline futures¹³, but they have moved sideways since then.

你知道，这并不是什么汽油定价事件。周日晚间，汽油期货开盘时上涨了约6美分，但此后一直呈横向走势。

And when you mentioned state -- states of emergency, it becomes very difficult to raise gasoline prices when you have a state of emergency in various areas. You have to prove that your wholesale¹⁴ price has gone up.

当你提到紧急状态时，当各个地区都处于紧急状态时，汽油价格的上涨就会变得非常困难，你必须证明自己的批发价上涨了才行。

Tom, very briefly¹⁵, if you had a message for consumers out there who see the videos of long lines, are worried that they may not get the fuel they need, what would you say?

汤姆，简单来说，你想对那些看到视频里的长队，担心自己买不到所需燃料的消费者说些什么？

Well, I have already failed in this message. I wanted to be the gasoline whisperer and tell people to stay calm, be patient.

嗯，我自己在这一点上已经失败了。我想成为汽油的低语者，告诉人们要保持冷静，耐心，

But it was a little bit like telling people to do that when they thought there were going to be toilet paper shortages last winter. And people have this fear, and they see the crowd behavior.

但这有点像去年冬天人们认为厕纸会短缺时告诉他们的那样。人们有这种恐惧，他们看到了群体行为。

And they say, well, if everybody else is buying it, I better buy some for me. And that has really, really snowballed in the last 48 hours or so.

他们会说，如果别人都买，那我最好也给自己买一些。在过去的48小时里这一群体逐渐壮大。

We hope that people will listen today. That is Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service joining us tonight. Thanks for your time.

我们希望今天人们能够倾听。和我们连线的是油价资讯服务公司的汤姆·克洛萨，谢谢你能抽出时间。

Thank you.

谢谢。

1 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

2 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。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

6 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

7 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

8 coalescing   

v.联合，合并( coalesce的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A mental model begins coalescing in their minds. 一个意识模型开始结合到他们的脑子里。 来自互联网
• On the basis of coalescing this kind of element can separate oil from compressed air. 采用凝聚原理，分离压缩空气中的油份。 来自互联网

9 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

10 catalyzed   

v.催化，促进( catalyze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Modern technology catalyzed tremendous economic growth in China. 现代技术促成了中国经济的巨大发展。 来自辞典例句
• The mechanisms of sorption-catalyzed organophosphate hydrolysis are not well understood. 吸附催化水解有机磷的机制还不太清楚。 来自辞典例句

11 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

12 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

13 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

14 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

15 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。