VOA常速英语2008年-OPEC Rejects Call for Higher Output

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
01 February 2008

OPEC's 13 members, meeting in Vienna Friday, rejected calls by the United States to increase oil output.  The oil cartel said supplies meet current demands.  Lisa Bryant has more from Paris.

Following talks in Vienna, OPEC members decided¹ to keep daily output at its current levels at nearly 29.7 million barrels a day. Their meeting comes after oil prices - which saw an unprecedented² high of more than $100 per barrel of crude in early January - tumbled by 10 percent, to below $90 a barrel Thursday.

U.S. President George Bush urged OPEC to increase production during a visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, arguing high oil prices could hurt world economies.

But OPEC members argue the steep prices reflected speculation³ activity rather than a supply shortage. Members also fear that a weaker world economy, rocked by the U.S. mortgage crisis and other economic problems, may translate into less demand for oil.

Algerian oil minister and OPEC President Chakib Khelil, who headed the Vienna conference, said oil supplies were not the problem.

"Supplies are going to be there, if of course there is a demand, it is going be there and I don't feel the world economy should be concerned about the lack of oil," he said.  "It should be more concerned about the, you know, the financial crisis that we are witnessing and the impact on the world growth."

OPEC is particularly concerned about the U.S. economic slowdown and the weak dollar, which hurts the purchasing power of its members.

OPEC's humanitarian⁴ branch separately announced Friday it had approved $5 million for health, sanitation⁵ and other key services to help residents in Gaza amid an ongoing⁶ blockade of the territory which is run by the militant⁷ Palestinian group Hamas.

1 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。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 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。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。