VOA慢速英语2021 美国释放石油储备以降低油价

The administration of American President Joe Biden said it would release 50 million barrels of oil from the United States emergency oil supply.

美国总统乔·拜登领导的政府表示，它将从美国紧急石油储备中释放5000万桶石油。

It said the move was done in partnership¹ with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain to bring down oil prices.

拜登政府表示，此举是与中国、印度、韩国、日本和英国合作进行，以降低油价。

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum² Reserve is an emergency supply of oil in case of natural disasters, national security incidents and other events.

美国战略石油储备是在发生自然灾害、国家安全事件和其他事件时以保障国家石油供给的紧急石油储备。

It is maintained by the Energy Department.

美国战略石油储备由能源部负责维护。

It is estimated that there are about 605 million barrels of oil in the reserve.

据估计，该储备中的石油储量约为6.05亿桶。

The release is meant to lower fuel costs and serve as a warning to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

此次释放战略石油储备的目的是降低燃料成本，并对石油输出国组织（OPEC）发出警告。

OPEC is a group of 15 mostly Persian Gulf³ countries.

欧佩克是一个由15个国家组成的组织，其中大部分国家位于波斯湾沿岸。

The U.S. and other major oil users believe high prices could slow the global economy's recovery from the pandemic.

美国和其他主要石油消费国认为，高油价可能会减缓全球经济从疫情中复苏的速度。

The move is also aimed at U.S. voters who are dealing⁴ with high inflation and rising gas prices ahead of winter holiday travel.

这一举措也针对美国选民，他们在寒假出行之前正在应对高通胀和油价上涨的问题。

Gasoline prices are, on average, more than 50 percent higher than a year ago, the American Automobile⁵ Association said.

美国汽车协会表示，汽油价格平均比一年前上涨了50%以上。

The U.S. announcement of 50 million barrels is equal to about two and a half days of U.S. demand.

美国宣布的5,000万桶石油相当于美国大约两天半的需求。

India said it would release 5 million barrels from its supply and Britain 1.5 million barrels.

印度表示其将从石油储备中释放500万桶，英国将释放150万桶。

Officials said it was the first time that the United States had made such a move with some of the world's largest oil users.

官员们表示，这是美国首次与全球最大的石油消费国中的一些国家共同采取这样的举措。

The release of the reserves would be a mix of an exchange and a sale to companies that Congress approved, American officials said.

美国官员表示，释放的储备石油将用于交换和出售给国会批准的公司。

The actions by the U.S. and other nations risk angering some countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Russia.

美国和其他国家的举措可能会激怒一些国家，特别是沙特阿拉伯和俄罗斯。

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have made clear that they want to control the oil supply to keep prices high for now.

沙特阿拉伯和其他海湾国家已经明确表示，他们希望控制石油供应量，以保持目前的高油价。

There have been warnings that those countries may back away from promises to increase supplies in coming months.

有警告称，那些国家可能会放弃在未来几个月增加石油供应的承诺。

The Biden administration decision comes after weeks of diplomatic talks.

拜登政府是在经过数周的外交谈判后做出这一决定的。

Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping talked about ways to deal with oil supplies in their online meeting earlier this month.

本月早些时候，拜登和中国国家主席习近平在视频会晤时讨论了解决石油供应问题的方法。

The two "discussed the importance of taking measures to address global energy supplies," the administration said.

拜登政府表示，双方“讨论了采取措施解决全球能源供应问题的重要性”。

The pandemic severely⁶ affected⁷ energy markets.

新冠疫情严重影响了能源市场。

As business closures began in April, 2020, demand fell.

随着2020年4月企业开始关闭，需求下降。

Energy traders did not want to buy large amounts of oil that they could not store.

能源交易商不想购买大量他们无法储存的石油。

But as the economy recovered, prices jumped to a seven-year high in October.

但随着经济复苏，10月份的石油价格跃升至七年来的最高水平。

Experts say releasing reserves may not be enough to prevent continuing price increases.

专家表示，释放石油储备可能不足以阻止石油价格持续上涨。

"It's not large enough to bring down prices in a meaningful way and may even backfire" if OPEC countries slow their supply of oil, Caroline Bain told Reuters.

卡罗琳·贝恩告诉路透，如果欧佩克成员国放慢石油供应速度，“这些国家释放石油储备的规模还不足以有效压低油价，甚至可能适得其反”。

She is an economist⁸ at Capital Economics, a research business.

她是研究公司凯投宏观的经济学家。

Biden and administration officials said that releasing more oil from the reserve is not in conflict with the president's long-term climate goals.

拜登和政府官员表示，从石油储备中释放更多石油与总统的长期气候目标并不冲突。

They said the release is a short-term answer to a current problem.

他们表示，这次释放石油储备是对当前问题的短期解决方案。

Climate policies are a long-term answer over many years, they said.

他们说，气候政策是今后许多年的长期解决方案。

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

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 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 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。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。