2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Wants to Cut US Petroleum Demand

By Scott Stearns
White House
24 January 2007

U.S. President George Bush wants Americans to cut their use of gasoline by 20 percent over the next 10 years. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, it is the cornerstone of a new energy policy launched in Tuesday's State of the Union address.

President Bush delivers remarks on energy Wilmington, Delaware

President Bush says America's dependence¹ on foreign oil is an economic and national security risk that the country had better start dealing² with seriously now.

"The more dependent we are on oil from overseas, the more likely it is somebody else's demand is going to affect what you pay at the pump for gasoline," he said.  "Secondly³, if you are dependent on oil overseas and a hostile regime, a regime hostile to the United States, produces that oil, you become vulnerable to the activity of a hostile regime."

The president wants to reduce that vulnerability by cutting U.S. petroleum⁴ use 20 percent in the decade.  Boosting alternative fuel supplies by 35 billion gallons would replace 15 percent of the current projected annual gasoline use.

The remaining five percent would come from saving more than eight billion gallons through tougher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.

The United States currently imports about 60 percent of its oil. The president wants to step up domestic production in what he calls environmentally sensitive ways including drilling in the Gulf⁵ of Mexico and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska.

Mr. Bush also wants to double the current capacity of the strategic petroleum reserve, which is meant to cushion the impact of natural disaster or a terrorist attack on the energy supply chain. Boosting that reserve to 1.5 billion barrels by 2027 would give America 97 days of net oil import protection.

"If we are saying dependence on oil creates a terrorist threat, let's do something about it now," he added.  "Let's say that if the threat does come there is enough crude oil in storage to be able to deal with the short-term economic consequences of an attack."

The president spoke⁶ to energy scientists in the eastern state of Delaware, following up on his launch of the energy plan in Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Mr. Bush is focusing on domestic issues that he feels have the best chance of passing in a legislature controlled by political opponents.

Most of the energy plan does appear to have bipartisan support. Democratic Senator Ken⁷ Salazar says he is delighted the president has given Congress the challenge to pursue greater energy independence.

"We have an opportunity here to work together as a Senate, as a United States Congress, by bringing Republicans and Democrats⁸ together to achieve true energy independence, to surpass even the president's vision of what it is that we can do," he said.

The president says his 2008 budget will request nearly $3 billion for research into alternative energy supplies including biofuels.

1 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

2 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。

3 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

4 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。

5 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。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》