纽约时报 拜登为降低油价--只剩最糟的选择(2)

 

 

    “A president has to try,” said Bill Richardson, an energy secretary in the Clinton administration.

    克林顿政府的能源部长比尔·理查森说：“总统必须尝试。

    “Unfortunately, there are only bad options. And any alternative options are probably worse than asking the Saudis to increase production.”

    不幸的是，只有糟糕的选择。而且任何替代选项都可能比要求沙特增产更糟糕。”

    Two other oil-producing countries that could increase production — Iran and Venezuela — are U.S. adversaries¹ that Western sanctions have largely cut out of the global market.

    另外两个可能增加产量的产油国——伊朗和委内瑞拉——是美国的对手，西方的制裁基本上把它们赶出了全球市场。

    Striking any deal with their leaders without securing major concessions² on issues like nuclear enrichment and democratic reforms would be politically perilous³ for Mr. Biden.

    对拜登来说，在没有在核浓缩和民主改革等问题上取得重大让步的情况下，与两国领导人达成任何协议都将面临政治风险。

    Energy experts said even Saudi Arabia, which is widely considered to have the most spare production capacity ready to be put to use, could not bring down prices quickly on its own.

    能源专家表示，即使是被普遍认为拥有最多闲置产能可以投入使用的沙特阿拉伯，也无法单靠自己迅速压低油价。

    That’s because Russian output is sliding and could fall much further as European countries reduce their purchases from the country.

    这是因为俄罗斯的产量正在下滑，而且随着欧洲国家减少从俄罗斯的采购，俄罗斯的产量可能会进一步下降。

    “Presidents may be the most powerful figure in the American government, but they cannot control the price of oil at the pump,” said Chase Untermeyer, U.S. ambassador to Qatar in the George W. Bush administration.

    乔治·布什政府时期的美国驻卡塔尔大使蔡斯·昂特迈尔说：“总统可能是美国政府中最有权势的人物，但他们无法控制加油站的油价。”

    “Even if prices do go down for reasons out of his control, President Biden probably won’t get much credit for it, either.”

    “即使价格真的因为超出他控制的原因而下跌，拜登总统也很可能不会为此得到太多赞誉。”

    Some Republican lawmakers and oil executives have argued that Mr. Biden could do more to increase domestic oil and gas production by opening up more federal lands and waters to oil drilling in places like Alaska and the Gulf⁴ of Mexico.

    一些共和党议员和石油业高管认为，拜登可以通过开放更多的联邦土地和水域，允许在阿拉斯加和墨西哥湾等地进行石油钻探，从而在增加国内石油和天然气产量方面做出更多努力。

    He could also ease regulations on pipeline⁵ construction so Canadian producers could send more oil south.

    他还可以放松对管道建设的监管，这样加拿大生产商就可以向南输送更多石油。

    But even those initiatives — which environmentalists and many Democrats⁶ oppose because they would retard⁷ efforts to combat climate change — would have little immediate⁸ impact because it takes months for new oil wells to start producing and pipelines⁹ can take years to build.

    但即便是这些举措也不会产生立竿见影的效果，因为新油井需要几个月的时间才能投产，而管道可能需要数年时间才能建成。而环保人士和许多民主党人反对这些举措，因为它们会阻碍应对气候变化的努力。

    “Were the administration to accede¹⁰ to every aspect of the industry’s wish list, that would have a modest impact on today’s prices because it would mostly be about production in the future,”

    “如果美国政府在各个方面都满足石油行业的要求，对目前的价格影响也不大，因为这主要是关乎未来的生产。”

    said Jason Bordoff, who is director of Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy and was an adviser¹¹ to President Barack Obama.

    哥伦比亚大学全球能源政策中心主任、美国总统奥巴马的顾问杰森·博尔多夫说。

    “And it would come with substantial downsides politically, socially and environmentally.”

    “这将在政治、社会和环境方面带来巨大的负面影响。”

1 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

2 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

3 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

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 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

6 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》

7 retard   

n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速

参考例句：

• Lack of sunlight will retard the growth of most plants.缺乏阳光会妨碍大多数植物的生长。
• Continuing violence will retard negotiations over the country's future.持续不断的暴力活动会阻碍关系到国家未来的谈判的进行。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

10 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。