2007年VOA标准英语-Former US Secretary of State Powell Says Rule o

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
18 June 2007

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told an international investors¹' conference in Moscow that Russia must observe the rule of law, if it hopes to attract the capital needed to further develop the country. Peter Fedynsky reports from Moscow that investments will become critical in Russia's vital energy sector².

Russian television selected a brief soundbite from an interview with former Secretary of State Colin Powell in which a translator quotes him as saying that Russia has succeeded in attracting foreign investors and will likely continue to do so.

But in an address journalists were not permitted to record, Mr. Powell told a large international investors' conference in Moscow that Russia must observe the rule of law and fight corruption³ if the country is to lure⁴ more investors.

Andrei Dementiev

Russia's Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Dementiev spoke⁵ only business. He told the same investors that the growth of his country's GDP in recent years has outpaced expectations. He also expressed confidence in new export markets for Russian energy in the east and in Europe.

Dementiev says that when fully⁶ developed, the northern European gas pipeline⁷ will allow delivery of gas not only to traditional Russian clients in Central Europe, but also to new markets in Scandinavia and Great Britain.

But Leonid Fedun, the vice⁸ president of Russia's Lukoil petroleum⁹ company, says drilling for oil is becoming technically¹⁰ more difficult and expensive, which could cause a period of slow growth, even stagnation¹¹ in Russia.

Fedun says Russia no longer has any developed and proven oil fields. Today, he says, all Russian oil companies - government and private - will need to invest gigantic amounts of money just to maintain the current annual production level of 10 billion barrels.

Fedun estimates that sum to be $300 billion, which will require foreign investment.

Another oil company executive, Peter O'Brien - an American investment banker who is now vice president of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company - agreed with Secretary Powell's linkage¹² between the country's ability to draw foreign investment and its commitment to the rule of law.

Peter O'Brien

"Management at Rosneft continues to work on what we can do to improve return on capital to our shareholders," he said. "And in order to do that, to the extent we are operating in a marketplace, which allows us to buy goods, sell goods, develop projects on a more predictable basis, the lower our cost of capital will be, the more efficient we will be able to be, and the greater chance we have to contribute to the growth and development of Russia."

O'Brien says Russia has made progress on the corruption issue since he first came to the country 15 years ago. But he notes that the Russian people are just now beginning to see the results of that progress.

1 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

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

5 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。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 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。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 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。

10 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

11 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

12 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。