VOA标准英语2009年-Ukraine, Russia Pricing Dispute Halts Russian G

The ongoing¹ dispute over transit² fees and pricing has halted Russian natural gas exports to Europe.
　

A gas pressure gauge3 is seen at a snow-covered transit point on the main pipeline4 from Russia in the village of Boyarka, near Kyiv, Ukraine, 06 Jan 2009

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the disruption that has curtailed⁵ vital gas deliveries to several European countries, including Hungary, Romania, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Amid freezing temperatures and usage restrictions⁶, the Japanese automaker Suzuki says it is halting production at its Hungarian affiliate⁷.

The European Union says it is being held hostage to a bilateral⁸ dispute and is demanding an immediate⁹ resolution of the matter. On Wednesday, German Chancellor¹⁰ Angela Merkel expressed displeasure in telephone conversations with Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko. Germany gets some 37 percent of its natural gas from Russia, 80 percent of that through pipelines¹¹ that transit Ukraine.

Russia claims that Ukraine is $2 billion in arrears¹² in gas payments. It accuses Ukraine of siphoning off gas intended for Central and Western Europe. Gazprom, the Russian gas supplier and the world's biggest energy company, wants Ukraine to pay world market prices - more than double what Ukraine has been paying. Ukraine, in turn, wants Russia to pay more in transit fees.

Three years ago, an almost identical dispute briefly¹³ disrupted natural gas trans-shipments.

Thomas Mayer, chief European economist¹⁴ at Deutsche Bank, expects the dispute will be resolved soon. He told Bloomberg Television that neither country wants to damage its commercial ties with Europe. Mayer foresees no significant shortages in Western Europe.

"I think there is the possibility for the European Union to share reserves among the European Union countries," said Mayer. "So at the present time, I don't think one needs to be too worried about it. And I think the markets are also not taking a lot of fright from that."

Mayer says that, so far, the shortages are not acute in Germany, which is still obtaining some Russian gas through the pipeline that crosses Belarus.

Several politicians and energy experts say this latest supply disruption reveals that Western Europe has become too dependent on Russia for natural gas and oil. They say that dependence¹⁵ is likely to grow with a planned pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Russia, meanwhile, is expanding its pipeline network to allow greater oil and gas exports to fast-growing China and India.

1 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。

2 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。

3 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

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 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 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。

10 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

11 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。

12 arrears   

n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作

参考例句：

• The payments on that car loan are in arrears by three months.购车贷款的偿付被拖欠了三个月。
• They are urgent for payment of arrears of wages.他们催讨拖欠的工钱。

13 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

14 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

15 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。