Obama Ridicules GOP on Energy Policy

 　　President Barack Obama Thursday ridiculed¹ his political opponents for rejecting his plans for reducing U.S. dependence² on foreign oil.  The president again sought public support for his energy policy, as rising gasoline prices threaten his re-election.

　　President Obama visited a community college near Washington Thursday, to once again make the case for what he calls his “all-of-the-above” energy policy.

　　He said opposition³ Republicans’ calls to reduce soaring gasoline prices by increasing drilling for domestic oil would not make the United States less dependent on oil from overseas.

　　“It cannot just be drilling for more oil," said President Obama. "We are drilling for more oil, but that cannot be all the solution.  That is just part of the solution.”

　　Mr. Obama says he has dramatically increased the amount of domestic oil drilling in his three years in office.  But he says other approaches are needed, including alternative sources of energy and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

　　He blasted Republican presidential candidates who dismiss his calls for increased reliance on wind and solar energy, comparing them to science skeptics of the past.

　　“If some of these folks were around when Columbus set sail,  they must have been founding members of the Flat Earth Society," Obama said. "They would not have believed that the world was round.”

　　The president also said the forces driving up oil prices are beyond his control.  He mentioned instability in the Middle East and growing international demand for gasoline as the main factors.

　　“You have got rapidly growing nations like China and India, and they are all starting to buy cars," he said. "They are getting wealthier.  They want cars too.  And that means the price of gas will rise.”

　　Chief oil analyst⁴ Tom Kloza, with the Oil Price Information Service, says swelling⁵ global demand is one of three factors driving up oil prices.

　　“Number one, rising demand in developing countries outside of the U.S. and Europe," said Kloza. "Number two, Iran and the notion that something could happen there that inhibits⁶ selling into the market.  And number three, there is a lot of investment and a lot of speculation⁷ in oil.”

　　Kloza says there is not much a U.S. president can do to stop oil prices from rising, aside from threatening new regulations or limits on investors⁸.

　　“If you put a little fear of God into the speculators and into the people who think that there is only an upside for crude oil or gasoline, prices could be tempered," he said.

　　The president later brushed off a question about whether he has decided⁹ to ease gasoline prices by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum¹⁰ Reserve, an emergency store of oil kept by the U.S. government.

　　A few minutes later, his spokesman, Jay Carney, denied reports that Mr. Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron had agreed, at their meeting Wednesday, to tap the Strategic Reserve.

　　“It is inaccurate¹¹, as was reported today, that any kind of agreement was reached on a course of action, or that any kind of timetable associated with a course of action was agreed to," said Carney. "Those reports are wrong.  They are false.”

　　With the presidential election less than eight months away, public opinion polls show that voters are concerned about rising gasoline prices, and many blame the president.

1 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

6 inhibits   

阻止，抑制( inhibit的第三人称单数 )； 使拘束，使尴尬

参考例句：

• A small manufacturing sector inhibits growth in the economy. 制造业规模太小有碍经济增长。
• His bad English inhibits him from speaking freely. 他英语学得不好，这使他不能表达自如。

7 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 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。

11 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。