【一起听英语】尼日利亚的石油损失

每年尼日利亚都会损失相当数量的石油，这些石油都去向何处了呢？

Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I’m

Neil and with me today is Jennifer.

Jennifer: Hi there. In 6 Minute English, we take a story from the BBC news, have a

chat about it and teach you some words on the way!

Neil: Now Jennifer, I have a bit of a sensitive question to ask you…

Jennifer: Oh, I’m not sure if I want to answer this… What is it?

Neil: I want to know if you have ever stolen anything.

Jennifer: How dare you! Of course I haven’t!

Neil: Really? Nothing? Not even a pen from work?

Jennifer: Well, OK, maybe a pen from work…

Neil: How about five billion dollars-worth of oil?

Jennifer: What!?

Neil: Yes, apparently¹ about five billion dollars-worth of crude oil is stolen from

Nigeria every year and it’s causing massive economic problems for the

African country.

Jennifer: This sounds like the beginning of a quiz question…

Neil: Yes it is. What is the capital city of Nigeria? Is it:

a) Lagos

b) Abuja

c) Freetown

Jennifer: I don’t know but I will take a guess. I think it is Lagos.

Neil: We will find out at the end of the programme. Now a few facts about the

oil industry in Nigeria.

Jennifer: Oil is the country’s largest industry and nearly all of it is found around the

delta² of the Niger River in the south of the country.

6 Minute English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2012

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Neil: The problem is that large quantities of oil are stolen and shipped – or

taken by boat – to international markets. Now there’s a strange

expression used to describe this type of theft.

Jennifer: Listen to the first part of this report from the BBC’s Martin Plaut. See if

you can hear what the word is.

Insert

Nigeria has for years suffered from the illegal syphoning off of large quantities of its oil

production. The practice, known locally as bunkering, involves tapping into pipelines³.

The oil is then taken by barge⁴ to tankers⁵ waiting offshore⁶. These then ship the oil to

international markets, where it is sold.

Neil: What was that word, Jennifer?

Jennifer: It was ‘bunkering’. It involves tapping into pipelines – the tubes used to

transport things like oil and gas and stealing the oil.

Neil: The oil is then taken in a barge, which is a long boat with a heavy bottom

used for transportation.

Jennifer: These barges⁷ then carry the oil to offshore tankers – huge ships used for

transporting liquid or gas. From there it goes to refineries⁸ to be sold in

international markets.

Neil: A refinery⁹ is a factory where crude oil is made suitable for use as fuel. But

the president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan wants to put a stop to this

practice. What would you do, Jennifer, if you were the president, to try to

stop this?

Jennifer: Well, I’d probably think of a solution using technology. I’d try to track – or

follow the movements – of those involved in the illegal trade.

Neil: Listen to the next part of this BBC report to find out what he’s ordered the

navy to do.

Insert

Now Nigeria's Trade and Industry minister, Olusegun Aganga, says President Goodluck

Jonathan has ordered the navy and other arms of government to use satellite

technology to track the tankers and seize them wherever these illegal shipments are

taken.

Neil: Well Jennifer, perhaps you should be in charge of this operation because

that’s exactly what the president has ordered! He has told the navy and

other arms of the government to use satellite technology to track the

tankers and seize them – meaning take them by force.

Jennifer: I wonder if it’ll work. The problem has been going on for a while now.

Even before the 2009 amnesty, militants¹⁰ were tapping into the pipelines

and selling oil to pay for weapons. An amnesty is a fixed¹¹ period of time

during which people are not punished for a crime.

6 Minute English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2012

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Neil: And oil theft is costing the country dearly. I did mention at the beginning

of the programme the amount of money the stolen oil is worth annually¹².

Can you remember what it was?

Jennifer: Listen to the last part of this BBC report and see if you can hear the total.

Insert

The Nigerian government says the illegal exploitation of the oil is currently costing the

country five billion dollars a year and it is determined¹³ to end it. But the practice has

gone on for years, with commentators¹⁴ suggesting that the Nigerian navy has been

involved and that smugglers are protected by senior politicians. Mr Aganga insisted that

these links can be broken and those responsible brought to justice.

Jennifer: The Nigerian government says the illegal exploitation of oil is costing the

country five billion dollars a year.

Neil: Five billion dollars! That’s an immense amount of money to go out of the

economy. I wonder if they can stop it.

Jennifer: Well, one of the problems is that there seems to be widespread

corruption¹⁵ – the dishonest behaviour of people in power for their own

personal or financial gain.

Neil: According to the report, the Nigerian navy has been involved and

smugglers are actually protected by senior politicians. But is there hope?

Jennifer: Well, the country’s trade minister insists that the corruption can be

eliminated and those responsible can be brought to justice.

Neil: It’s a very complex story; billions of dollars are lost every year and yet the

practice of ‘bunkering’ still goes on. Time now, Jennifer, to find out the

answer to the quiz question I asked at the beginning of the programme. I

asked what the capital of Nigeria is.

The options were:

a) Lagos

b) Abuja

c) Freetown

Jennifer And I guessed Lagos.

Neil: And you were wrong. The answer is Abuja. That's all we have time for

today, but do join us again for more 6 Minute English from

bbclearningenglish.com. Bye!

Jennifer: Bye!

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

4 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

5 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

7 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

8 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。

9 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。

10 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。