VOA标准英语2009年-Hungary, Eastern Europe Face Cold Without Russi

Even though Russia and Ukraine have backed off from their energy war, Eastern Europe and the Balkans face natural gas shortages after Moscow closed the taps for deliveries destined¹ for Europe. Europeans are facing a harsh winter in which at least a dozen people have died in freezing temperatures.

Natural gas deliveries to Europe, via Ukraine, came to a halt Wednesday.
　

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, 07 Jan 2009

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made that decision after being told Ukraine was stealing natural gas destined for Europe to make up for shortfalls after Russia closed the taps to its neighbor because of a pricing dispute.

During talks Thursday, officials from the two nations said they were willing to start pumping gas to Europe and would accept having monitors check on the gas flow - but they were less confident about solving the root causes of the dispute.

This worries former Soviet² satellite states such as Hungary that are heavily dependent on Russian energy.

Large firms and factories have been ordered to use less natural gas amid fears reservoirs could run out. Hungarian Energy Minister Csaba Molnar says the government is closely monitoring the situation and the negotiations³ between Ukraine and Russia. He adds that if there will be a lack of natural gas deliveries Hungary may have to order the government's first level category of consumers, meaning large companies and factories, to cease their production.
　

Worker checks natural gas line pressure in Hungary

Gas reductions come at an already difficult time for companies during the worst economic crisis in decades.

One example is the meat processing plant 'Kometa '99' in the Hungarian town of Kaposvar, about 190 kilometers southwest of Budapest. Its deputy director Tibor Hollosy suggests that pigs in his neighborhood will live a bit longer.

He says they still have some gas and his company cannot stop production completely. But Hollosy says the firm is already considering reducing the number of pigs slaughtered⁴. He adds the company is also considering how to use the production facility for other activities.

Thousands of Hungarian residents in the nearby area of Komlo, a former mining town already suffering from recession and mine closures are feeling the effects of the gas shortage.

Pensioner⁵ Imre Deak is among the people in the region anxiously looking at their heating systems in rundown apartments.

He says when he woke up it felt cooler than usual in his room. Deak says his heating system does not work well. He says his boiler⁶, which he needs for heating, has difficulty starting because of low gas pressure.

Despite its difficulties, Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany says his country will try to sell two million cubic meters of natural gas daily to neighboring Serbia, where supplies are running low amid freezing conditions.

In Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina, which has a significant Hungarian minority, several towns have been unable to make the changeover from gas to crude oil. Hundreds of thousands of people are now without regular heating as temperatures have dropped.
　

People ride in a unheated tram in effort to save on electric power in Bulgarian capital, Sofia, 8 Jan. 2009

There have been similar reports in other Eastern European and Balkan countries, including in Bulgaria where dozens of schools have closed because of the sub-zero temperatures. In Bosnia, officials say thousands also spent the night without gas. Most electrical heaters in the capital Sarajevo have been sold.

More than a dozen people have also frozen to death in Eastern Europe, mainly in Poland, and Romania. Spokesman Radek Honzak of the European Union's current president, the Czech Republic, says the bloc⁷ is closely monitoring the situation.

"This is a serious problem. And we need to find a solution immediately. Or rather the two sites of the dispute need to find a solution and immediately restore full supplies of gas into the Europe Union according to existing commitments," he said.

Whatever the outcome, nothing will change for tens of thousands of homeless people in Eastern Europe, including workers of closed factories, for whom there is not always a shelter. They already reconciled themselves with living in harsh winter conditions.

1 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 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。

4 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

6 boiler   

n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等)

参考例句：

• That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。
• This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。