VOA标准英语2010年-BP Replaces Chief Executive Amid Recor

Members of the British Petroleum¹ executive, from left, outgoing CEO Tony Hayward, Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, and incoming CEO Bob Dudley, pose for the media outside their global headquarters in London, 27 Jul 2010

The international oil giant BP has announced record losses for the past quarter and confirmed Tuesday it is replacing its chief executive, Tony Hayward.  BP's woes² stem from the disastrous³ oil spill in the Gulf⁴ of Mexico.

 BP's losses for the past quarter amount to some $17 billion, due to having to set aside more than $32 billion for costs linked to the oil spill off the U.S. coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP's board also confirmed what had been widely predicted in recent days, company's CEO Tony Hayward is stepping aside.  Hayward will be replaced by fellow executive Robert Dudley.

BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said the decision was by mutual⁵ agreement.

"In view of the Macondo well and everything that has happened... it became clear that you needed, in this case, a new face and a new man to lead this," he explained.  "And, of course, especially America is our biggest market so that is also important."

Tony Hayward had become the embattled public face of BP and the Gulf oil disaster.  He made a few blatant⁶ public relations gaffes⁷, such as saying he would like to get his life back, after 11 people had been killed when the drilling rig exploded in April and oil continued to gush⁸ into the Gulf.

Vessels⁹ operate at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 17 Jul 2010

Many factors may have been to blame for the disaster.  But, the focus turned on Hayward, says economic and environmental policy expert Robert Faulkner of the London School of Economics.  He says Hayward's departure was inevitable¹⁰.

"It may not be entirely¹¹ justified¹² that he was the 'fall guy,' but in the public's eye and in the view of the U.S. Congress and the president, he was the man responsible for this," noted¹³ Faulkner.  "And as so often in major crises, the top man has to take that responsibility and walk."

Hayward will "walk" on October 1 with a hefty severance¹⁴ package and a pension for his years with the company that will total more than $17 million.

The Gulf oil spill has also hit BP's balance sheet and the company announced it will sell $30 billion in assets during the next 18 months.  It is a huge blow for BP says Faulkner.

"It will be a smaller company because of this, and it will have lost a great deal of capital that it needs now to invest in future oil exploration," added Faulkner.  "So, BP's phenomenal growth in recent years has been halted, slightly reversed, but the important thing is it has survived so far; it has avoided hostile takeover; it has avoided bankruptcy¹⁵ so far."

It all depends, says Faulkner, on whether the damaged well can be fixed¹⁶, the spill stopped permanently¹⁷ and how well clean-up operations go.

BP has been stressing its strength and viability¹⁸ globally, but there is little doubt its public image has been hugely damaged in the United States.

Faulkner says rebranding may be needed.

"There are serious doubts about whether BP can retain its logo and its brand name in the way it has," Faulkner explained.  "We must remember that BP merged¹⁹ with the American oil company Amoco and dropped the Amoco label in 2001.  So it may have to conduct a rebranding in the United States to stay competitive."

The task of rebuilding the company, any rebranding and taking it into the future will fall mainly on American Robert Dudley, the new CEO.  Dudley grew up partly in the southern U.S. state of Mississippi, which has been heavily affected²⁰ by the oil spill.  He spent many years at Amoco, before it merged with BP.

1 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。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

4 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。

5 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

6 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

7 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

8 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

15 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

16 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。

17 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

18 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

19 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

20 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。