VOA慢速英语2019 沙特石油设施遇袭 石油产量骤减导致油价飙升

Oil Prices Jump as Attacks Cut Saudi Arabia’s Oil Production

Oil prices jumped sharply on Monday following an attack over the weekend on two Saudi Arabian oil-processing centers. The attacks endangered world oil supplies.

沙特两处石油加工中心周末遭遇袭击之后，国际油价周一大幅上涨。这些袭击危及了全球石油供应。

Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks, which appear to have used drones against the Saudi Aramco oil centers. The Houthi rebels have links to Iran.

也门的胡塞叛乱分子声称对这些袭击事件负责，事件中似乎使用了无人机打击沙特阿美石油中心。胡塞叛乱分子与伊朗存在关联。

The Houthis said they used 10 drones to cause huge fires at the Abqaiq and Khurais oil centers in eastern Saudi Arabia.

胡塞叛军声称他们动用了10架无人机，造成沙特东部阿布盖格和胡赖斯石油中心燃起大火。

The incident cut Saudi oil production by more than 50 percent. That is estimated to be about five percent of total world oil production. Saudi officials say the country will not return to normal production for weeks.

这一事件使得沙特的石油产量减少50%以上。据估计，这大约占到了全球石油总产量的5%。沙特官员表示，该国在数周内都无法恢复正常生产。

By midday on Monday, oil prices had increased by more than 10 percent on world markets, to more than $60 a barrel.

截至周一午间，国际市场上的油价涨幅超过了10%，达到了每桶60美元以上。

Iran considered likely cause of the attacks

伊朗被疑可能是袭击主谋

Many details of the attacks remain unclear.

这些袭击的许多细节尚不得而知。

Iraqi news media reported that the attacks were launched from southern Iraq, where Iranian-supported militias¹ have influence. The Iraqi government, however, denies that its territory was used to launch the attacks.

伊拉克新闻媒体报道称，这些袭击是从伊拉克南部发起的，伊朗支持的民兵在这里极具影响力。然而，伊拉克政府否认其领土被用于发动袭击。

U.S. officials released satellite pictures of the damage to the Saudi oil centers. The officials say the pattern of destruction suggested that the attacks came from either Iraq or Iran – and not Yemen.

美国官员发布了沙特石油中心受损的卫星照片。官员们表示，破坏方式表明袭击来自伊拉克或伊朗，而不是也门。

A Saudi military spokesman said an early investigation² suggested that, in his words, “Iranian weapons” were used in the attacks.

沙特军方发言人表示，早期调查表明袭击使用了伊朗武器。

U.S. President Donald Trump³ signaled that he was willing to launch a strike to answer the attacks. He wrote on Twitter that American forces were “locked and loaded.” In other words, they were ready to react quickly.

美国总统川普表示他决意发动打击来回应这些袭击。他在推特上写道，美国军队已经“整装待发。”换句话说，他们已经做好快速反应的准备。

On Sunday, Trump tweeted, “There was reason to believe we know the culprit.” But he also said the United States was discussing the situation with Saudi Arabia.

周日，川普发推文说：“我们有理由相信我们知道罪魁祸首。”但是他也表示，美国还在跟沙特讨论这一局面。

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet that “Iran has now launched an unprecedented⁴ attack on the world’s energy supply.”

美国国务卿蓬佩奥早些时候在推文中表示，“伊朗现在对全球能源供应发动了前所未有的袭击。”

Iran has denied involvement in the drone attacks. It called the accusations⁵ “maximum lies.”

伊朗否认参与了无人机袭击。该国称这些指控是“最大的谎言。”

Iranian general Amir Ali Hajizadeh commands the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ aerospace⁶ force. He warned that Iranian missiles could strike any U.S. base or ships within 2000 kilometers of Iran.

伊朗将军阿米尔·阿里·哈吉扎徳是伊斯兰革命卫队的空天部队的指挥官。他警告说，伊朗的导弹可以击中距离伊朗2千公里范围内的任何美国基地或船只。

Iran has seized foreign oil ships in the waters off its western coast in the past four months. It also has shot down a U.S. spy drone.

过去4个月，伊朗在该国西海岸附近海域扣押了外国油轮。它还击落了一架美国间谍无人机。

Saudi officials say they are holding talks with other oil-producing countries about increasing oil production. And, Trump announced on Monday that he would permit the use of the Strategic Petroleum⁷ Reserve if needed. That is a large supply of stored oil that the U.S. holds in the event of an emergency.

沙特官员表示，他们正在跟其他石油生产国就增加石油产量进行谈判。此外，川普周一宣布，如果有需要将会动用战略石油储备。这是美国以备万一发生紧急情况而持有的大量储备石油。

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

drone –n. a pilotless aircraft that is controlled remotely

pattern –n. something that happens in a repeated way

initial –adj. taking place at the beginning of something

culprit –n. a person who commits a crime or does something wrong

unprecedented –adj. not done or experienced before

1 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

7 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。