VOA标准英语2010年-Venezuelan Oil Production Declines as

Over the last decade, oil production has slipped in Venezuela, even as estimates of the country's petroleum¹ reserves have grown. Venezuela's reserves are now thought to be the world's largest, giving the country an enormous revenue potential for decades to come.  Whether or not President Hugo Chavez can help his country realize that potential is a matter of debate.

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s, but President Chavez rails against foreign oil interests as if it had happened yesterday. "Petro-colonialism was installed in Venezuela, and dominated our politics, our culture, and our economy," he said.

With the oil industry under state control, Mr. Chavez bears responsibility for how it is run. At a first glance, the numbers do not look encouraging. Experts say production has dropped about a third since he came to office, robbing the country of the full financial benefit that could have accrued² in 2008, when global oil prices peaked around $140 a barrel.

Venezuelan oil analyst³ Juan Carlos Sosa says the government has diverted funds from oil infrastructure⁴ in order to sustain ever-more-expensive socialist⁵ initiatives.

"To get back to the 1998 level of production, Venezuela would need to invest $10-$12 billion a year for the next 10 years to upgrade its petroleum operations.  This is not being done, and so the situation is critical," he said.

To make matter worse, according to Sosa, the government has fired thousands of technicians from the state-owned oil company, PDVSA and replaced them with workers whose primary qualification is their loyalty⁶ to President Chavez. And, he notes, a significant portion of Venezuela's dwindling⁷ oil production is donated to Cuba and other leftist-led countries.

"Cuba receives more than 100,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil per day without paying anything.  Instead, Cuba provides medical services, sports training, and other assistance.  It is an ideological⁸ arrangement.  But PDVSA suffers, because it could be selling that oil to the United States for hard currency," Sosa said.

President Chavez scoffs⁹ at the criticism, noting that Venezuela has signed accords with China and other nations that will yield tens of billions of dollars of investment in oil infrastructure.  Far from declining further, he predicts production will double.

"In just a few years, we will be producing five million barrels a day. Then six million barrels a day," Chavez said.

Ordinary Venezuelans have mixed feelings about how their nation's oil wealth is managed. One man appreciates cheap domestic gasoline, sold at pennies per liter, but adds "on the other hand, if the price of gasoline were higher, maybe there would be more funds for roads and other projects."

But a worker at a PDVSA-run textile shop sees nothing but positives.

"PDVSA used to just pump oil to support the wealthy.  Now oil is used for health care, nutrition, education, and jobs," he said.  We have this center thanks to PDVSA.  It finances everything.  PDVSA is everywhere helping¹⁰ the people.  Like the president says, PDVSA now belongs to the people."

Venezuelan economist¹¹ Orlando Ochoa says nationalistic slogans and socialist rhetoric¹² cannot disguise what he sees as a simple truth: that the Chavez model is unsustainable.

"Oil prices for the first six months of this year are roughly what they were in the year 2006, a boom year for Venezuela.  But now that revenue is not enough for the government, which has boosted domestic spending by subsidizing food and taking over private enterprises," he said.

But Ochoa admits that continued oil revenues, even if insufficient¹³ to cover mounting government expenditures¹⁴, will allow President Chavez to put off, at least for now, any day of reckoning that may loom¹⁵ ahead.

1 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。

2 accrued   

adj.权责已发生的v.增加( accrue的过去式和过去分词 )；（通过自然增长）产生；获得；（使钱款、债务）积累

参考例句：

• The company had accrued debts of over 1000 yuan. 该公司已积欠了1000多万元的债务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have accrued a set of commemoration stamps. 我已收集一套纪念邮票。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

6 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

7 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

8 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

9 scoffs   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• [ Scoffs ] Why should a young girl like that love an old fart like me? 为什么一个那样的年轻女孩应该喜欢我这样的老家伙？
• The noise of the moment scoffs at the music of the Eternal. 瞬刻的喧声，讥笑着永恒的音乐。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 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。

12 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

13 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

14 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。