英伦广角 英国不顾抗议 批准勘探约克郡页岩气

A generous windfall sharing the profits of fracking or a cynical¹ bribe² to buy off opponents? As fracking faces more protests and legal challenges in areas like North Yorkshire, Theresa May is promising³ cash handouts⁴ direct to residents affected⁵. Until now the government was proposing to share the proceeds of shale⁶ gas only with community trusts or councils. Speaking ahead of a consultation⁷ on the plans, the Prime Minister said: “It’s about making sure people personally benefit from economic decisions that are taken - not just councils - and putting them back in control over their lives.”

Last week the Prime Minister delayed approving the new 18 billion pounds Hinkley nuclear power station in Somerset because of concerns over Chinese involvement and about value for money for taxpayers⁸ and energy consumers. 

“Nobody can say that Theresa May hasn’t been bold on energy policies since becoming Prime Minister. In just a few short weeks, she scrubbed the Energy and Climate Change Department, slammed the breaks on Hinkely, and now she’s launching her shale gas shakeup.”

Fracking involves drilling deep into the earth, injecting shale rock with a high pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals to release the gas inside. Estimates suggest there could be as much as 1,300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas under the north of England, providing more than 500 years of gas supply for the U.K. Supporters claim that post Bexit, the falling pound makes it more expensive to import gas and boost the case for a reliable supply of low-cost shale gas. But opponents say it’s dangerous because it requires huge amounts of water, causes pollution and earth trimmers. And they dismiss the P.M.’s cash offer as a bribe.

“I’m only in favor of subsidizing people to encourage them to do the right thing. And the trouble with fracking the shale gas is that it’s not clear that it is the right thing. And maybe that’s the reason that the government feels that they have to try to incentivize people to do it.”

But the Prime Minister who says she wants to apply this approach to other government programs in future is clearly hoping that putting shale gas cash in people’s pockets will be persuasive⁹ in the battle over fracking. 

1 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

2 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

5 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。

6 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

7 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

8 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

9 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。