2007年VOA标准英语-India, Pakistan and Iran Close To Gas Pipeline

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
29 June 2007

India says it is close to finalizing¹ a deal to transport natural gas from Iran to India via Pakistan. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, officials from the three countries have held talks in the Indian capital on the $7 billion project, which has been opposed by the United States.

 

petroleum2 minister Murli Deora (center) shakes hand with Iran's special representative of Ministry3 of Oil Ghanimi Fard (l) before the start of a meeting, in New Delhi, 29 Jun 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070704/1429570.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Indian petroleum minister Murli Deora (center) shakes hands with Iran's special representative of Ministry of Oil Ghanimi Fard (l) before the start of a meeting, in New Delhi, 29 Jun 2007

India's petroleum minister, Murli Deora, said Friday that officials from Iran, India and Pakistan have resolved most issues relating to the gas pipeline⁴ that would carry gas from Iran to the two South Asian countries.

 

The Indian minister spoke⁵ to reporters in New Delhi after officials from the three countries held talks on issues such as price mechanisms⁶ and transit⁷ fees for the $7 billion pipeline.

"I am very glad that they have reached to a great extent on all the sides agreements…maybe small things are still pending⁸," he said.

Indian officials say an Iranian demand to revise the price of natural gas every three years is still to be negotiated. Another pending issue is the transit fee that Pakistan will receive for allowing the flow of gas to India.

 

Indian officials say ministers from the three countries are expected to meet next month, first in Pakistan and then in Iran, to hammer out the final details.

The 2,600 kilometer pipeline has been billed as a "peace pipeline." It will initially⁹ carry around 60 million cubic meters of gas per day starting in 2011 to both India and Pakistan.

 

India and Pakistan are pressing ahead with the pipeline deal despite strong opposition¹⁰ from the United States, which wants them to abandon the project. Washington feels the mammoth¹¹ project will undermine its campaign to isolate¹² Tehran, which it accuses of having a clandestine¹³ nuclear weapons program.

 

India and Pakistan, however, say they want to ensure fuel supplies for their energy-hungry economies. They also say the project will strengthen regional cooperation.

Bharat Karnad, a security analyst¹⁴ at the independent Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, says the project has significant benefits for both India and Pakistan.

 

"The fact of the matter is both countries are enormously energy-starved, so a proximal energy source that you are getting at a reasonable economic cost is hard to resist for either Pakistan or India," said Karnad. "And the fact also is …Iran is a factor in the stability of the region, so you cannot afford to in a sense to make a pariah¹⁵ out of Iran."

Negotiations¹⁶ on the project began in 1994 but were stalled for years as India expressed concern over the safety of the pipeline that would run through Pakistan, its rival for decades. But the project got fresh momentum¹⁷ after tensions eased between the South Asian neighbors following a peace process that began in 2004.

1 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 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。

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 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 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。

11 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

12 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

13 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

14 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。

15 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

16 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

17 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。