Californian Drivers Feel the Pain of

 

Mike O'Sullivan and Bela Skopal

With the New York commodity market price for oil at more than $40 a barrel, gasoline has reached record prices throughout the United States. The pain is being felt most strongly in California.

The national price of gasoline averages just over 53 cents per liter or $2 a gallon. It's more than 10 percent higher in California because the state has stringent¹ requirements on fuel emissions², which make the processing of petroleum³ more expensive. 53 cents a liter for gas would be a dream in many countries, where the cost is double that. But California driver Nver Dilanian, who spends a lot of time in her car, is getting angry. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all. It's ridiculous. It's outrageous⁴."

California driver Jayne Vicens agrees that gas is too expensive. "If there are seven days in a week, I'm at the gas station at least three or four days now because of the back and forth⁵ with my kids, going back and forth to school, the grocery store. It's really killing⁶ me."

One reason the hike hits hard in Los Angeles is the lack of good public transportation. Another reason: many Californians, who drive long distances, own oversized sport utility vehicles.

"What do I drive? I drive a Ford⁷ Bronco." It costs him $50 each time he fills his gas tank.

This driver agrees that the price of gas, in his words, is "outrageous." "However, I haven't changed my driving habits yet. But every time I fill up at the pump, it hurts more and more," says another driver.

California truckers have taken some action. They blocked a Los Angeles freeway for several hours recently to protest the rising cost of diesel⁸ fuel. This trucker says he and other commercial drivers are losing money. "We're not making it any more. It's too expensive for us to keep working."

In Washington, Democratic senators are urging President Bush to release millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And in California, a bipartisan state commission is studying the oil market to see if the industry is pushing up retail⁹ prices. This driver is skeptical¹⁰ that the commission will change anything.

"It just seems that the government always likes to do investigations¹¹, but they never seem to come up with any solid answers as to why they keep going up. And I don't think they have any control over it. That's my opinion," he says.

Owners of several resorts in the mountain town of Big Bear are offering a free tank of gas to hotel guests.

They may not need to do that, according to several studies on the travel plans of Americans, which say people are planning more travel for the coming summer season despite the higher costs.

A survey by the American Automobile¹² Association says more than 30 million Americans will travel on the Memorial Day weekend in late May. Allen Kay of the Travel Industry Association of America says his group has also found that people are tired of staying at home, as some have done since the terror attacks of September 2001.

"There is a great pent-up demand for travel," he said. "There are a lot of people who have put off trips that they have wanted to take, and they're ready to go. And they don't want to put those plans off any longer. And that holds for travel by car, by plane, no matter the mode." He adds that there is a growing sense of optimism about the economy.

This man says he's not driving any less today, but the rising cost of gas may fuel some changes. "I'm thinking about buying a new car, and I'm thinking about buying something that's fuel efficient," he said.

California state officials note that gasoline costs have been higher in the past, adjusted for inflation. They say in 1981, the inflation-adjusted price of gas was nearly three cents a liter higher than the cost today.

注释：
commodity [kE5mCditi] n. 日用品
barrel [5bArEl] n. 桶
stringent [5strindVEnt] adj. 迫切的
fuel [fjuEl] n. 燃料
petroleum [pi5trEuliEm] n. 石油
ridiculous [ri5dikjulEs] adj. 荒谬的，可笑的
outrageous [aut5reidVEs] adj. 蛮横的，无耻的
hike [haik] n. （价格等）上涨
vehicle [5vi:ikl] n. 交通工具，车辆
tank [tANk] n. （盛液体，气体的大容器）桶、箱
taken some action 采取行动
freeway [5fri:wei] n. 高速公路
diesel [5di:zEl] n. 柴油机
bipartisan [bai7pB:ti5zAn] adj. 两党连立的
retail [5ri:teil] adj. 零售的
skeptical [5skeptikEl] adj. 怀疑性的
pent-up adj. 被抑制的
optimism [5CptimizEm] n. 乐观
inflation [in5fleiFEn] n. 通货膨胀

1 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 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。

4 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 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。

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

10 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 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。