每日口說挑戰【CNN10】國際油價飆漲、阿曼生物豐富多元、美國黑鷹號直升機自動駕駛 (Rich In Biodiversity | February 15, 2022)

[TRANSCRIPT]

Welcome to this week’s news report. I'm Leila.

Recent Crude Oil Spike Leads to Higher Gasoline Prices

On Monday the 14th of February, the price of crude oil reached $95 US dollars per barrel–the first time it had been that expensive in the past eight years. Crude oil prices affect the cost of gasoline at the pump which, naturally, makes driving more expensive, but also makes the goods and groceries that are transported via gas-powered vehicles more expensive. Rising oil prices are also associated with rising inflation.

Across America, the average for gasoline is now around $3.44 a gallon, or roughly $25 NTD per liter. That price in America is up more than a dollar from a year ago and is the highest since 2014. It doesn’t seem to be getting better either, as the national average continues to creep up toward the record national average of $4.11.

Why is this happening? Like many goods, it’s an issue of supply and demand. In March 2020, prices dropped drastically. In a nation that relies on personal transportation and cars, far fewer Americans were on the road, so there was far less demand for gasoline. That meant that oil producers, including OPEC, cut back on operations. They had nowhere to store extra oil. Later, when demand for fuel rebounded, it skyrocketed more than experts expected, and the oil industry didn't have the supply. That translates to higher prices.

The conflict on the Ukrainian border is an additional factor adding pressure to this situation. Russia is the world's second-largest oil producer. If the currently-cold conflict escalates into an all-out crisis, JP Morgan says oil prices could soar from $91 a barrel to $120. To mitigate this problem, the Biden Administration says it's now engaging with other oil-producing countries to increase production, preparing to go after firms that manipulate prices, and considering dipping into the petroleum reserve again. Last November, they announced the release of 50 million barrels from that supply.

For now, oil prices are expected to keep rising for months, driving up prices on everything from groceries to store goods, as well as the price at the fuel pump.

Professor in Oman Focuses on Conservation of Biodiversity

Despite the middle part of the country being hot and dry, Oman is a nation rich in biodiversity thanks to its mountains, plains, cliffs, and coasts. That’s why Professor Erika Cuellar Soto is working to conserve its natural features. Originally from Bolivia, Soto now teaches conservation, desert biology, and biodiversity at Sultan Qaboos University. She and her students, who hail from different parts of Oman, are contributing samples to the Natural History Museum in Muscat to represent the diversity of the country.

As Soto says, this is strategic for her because when her students finish university, they will be fresh biologists who will go back to their areas in the country. For many of them, the exploration of forests and mangroves under Soto’s tutelage is refreshing and very different from what they are used to seeing. But whether the area is lush or arid, Soto reminds her students that their country’s environment is rich indeed and shouldn’t be ignored. Conservation in the Middle East is as important as in any place in the world, after all.

And now, our Sentence of the Day:

The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.
絕大多數車輛依靠汽油來移動，而當汽油的價格上漲時，開車本身和運輸那些我們平常使用的貨物和雜貨的成本都將變得更加昂貴。

Let’s look at some vocabulary from the sentence:

vast
KK /væst/ IPA /væst/
extremely big
巨大的；廣大的
i.e. After taking our personalized financial advice, our clients have saved vast sums of money.
在接受了我們的客製化的財務建議後，我們的客戶節省了大量資金。


goods
KK /gʊdz/ IPA /ɡʊdz/
things for sale, or the things that you own
商品，貨物；私人財產
i.e. There’s a 50 percent discount on all electronic goods at the store right now.
現在商店裡所有的電子產品都有五折的折扣。


groceries
KK /ˋgrosərɪz/ IPA /ˈɡroʊ.sɚ.iz/
the food that you buy in a grocer's shop or supermarket
食品雜貨
i.e. Could you give me a hand unloading all these groceries, please?
請你幫我卸下所有這些雜貨好嗎？


Today's CNN10 video left me with some gray-area questions.

If Russia withholds oil, thereby creating a void, who will step in to fill the empty space? Could this be an opportunity for another country to gain footing in the world’s economy?

Will Professor Soto’s work to increase conservation in Oman meet with success? What insights will a new generation of conservationists in Oman bring?

I’m Leila, and that’s the news for now.

☺The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.
絕大多數的車輛是靠汽油才能夠到處跑，而當汽油的價格上漲時，不論是要開車出行或者是要運送我們生活常用的貨物和食品雜貨都都會變得更貴。
【心得】感覺是為了 貪圖利益而不顧人民的安危。金錢讓人盲目啊!
■vast [væst] (adj.)廣闊的、浩瀚的、廣大的；巨大的、龐大的；大量的、巨額的
■goods [gʊdz] (n.P)商品、貨物；動產、私人財產
■groceries [ˋgrosərɪz] (n.P)食品雜貨
■get around (ph. vt.)成功地應對、解決、避開[+sth]；說服[+sb]；(消息等)傳開、流傳[+(somewhere)]
(ph. vi.)各處旅行、廣泛遊歷；(尤指老年人或病人)能四處走動、活動
get around to sth做(早就想做的事情)

The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.

DAY 1154
The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.

The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.

The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.
絕大多數車輛依靠汽油來移動，而當汽油的價格上漲時，開車本身和運輸那些我們平常使用的貨物和雜貨的成本都將變得更加昂貴。
句子選自此影片： 【CNN10】國際油價飆漲、阿曼生物豐富多元、美國黑鷹號直升機自動駕駛 (Rich In Biodiversity | February 15, 2022)
學習重點
1. vast 巨大的；廣大的

vast
[væst] (adj.)
巨大的；廣大的

2. goods 商品，貨物；私人財產

goods
[gʊdz] (n.)
商品，貨物；私人財產

3. groceries 食品雜貨

groceries
[ˋgrosərɪz] (n.)
食品雜貨

2022/02/22

The vast majority of vehicles depend on gasoline to get around, and when those prices go up, it becomes more expensive both to drive and to transport the goods and groceries we use.