In a single year, the price of a barrel of oil doubled from $69 to almost $150.

一年之內，每桶石油的價格就從 69 美元翻了一番，達到近 150 美元。

Hitting the gas station became a thing of dread.

去加油站成了一件可怕的事情。

How much will it cost to fill up the car this week?

這周給車加油要花多少錢？

Is another price hike going to eat into the grocery money?

再次漲價會侵蝕雜貨店的收入嗎？

Americans began driving as little as possible in the summer of 2008, canceling vacations, especially road trips.

2008 年夏天，美國人開始儘量少開車，取消了假期，尤其是公路旅行。

When oil prices peaked in early July with the national average reaching $4.11 a gallon, who could have guessed that only four months later, US gas prices would drop to $1.72 a gallon?

當油價在 7 月初達到頂峰，全國平均油價達到每加侖 4.11 美元時，誰能想到僅僅四個月後，美國油價就會降到每加侖 1.72 美元？

This wild ride had little to do with supply and demand, but was a result of a new breed of greed, financial speculators.

這種狂飆與供需關係不大，而是新型貪婪者--金融投機者--的結果。

These villain investors manipulated oil contracts with frequent, heavy trading in the high stakes oil market.

這些惡棍投資者操縱石油合約，在高風險的石油市場上頻繁進行大量交易。

They gambled on oil just to keep the market jumping.

他們在石油上賭博，只是為了讓市場繼續跳動。

Up or down, whichever way the market surged, they raked in giant profits.

無論是上漲還是下跌，無論市場如何飆升，他們都能獲得鉅額利潤。

Experts say that between 60 and 70% of all oil contracts in the wholesale market are held by speculators, and they may not be who you think.

專家稱，批發市場上 60% 至 70% 的石油合同由投機者持有，而他們可能不是你想象的那種人。

Exploiting the public's oil dependencies are institutional investors like the State of California Pension Fund and the Harvard Endowment, as well as old line Wall Street firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

利用公眾對石油的依賴性的是加利福尼亞州養老基金和哈佛捐贈基金等機構投資者，以及摩根士丹利和高盛等老牌華爾街公司。

They can get away with it because the current system allows it, but that has to change.

他們之所以能逍遙法外，是因為現行制度允許這樣做，但這種情況必須改變。

Financial markets need strong rules and serious oversight.

金融市場需要強有力的規則和嚴肅的監督。

The federal government must crack down on anti-competitive practices by oil companies and investment firms.

聯邦政府必須打擊石油公司和投資公司的反競爭行為。

Officials must regulate energy trading exchanges.

官員必須對能源交易交易所進行監管。

Contrary to what has been said for the past eight years, regulation is not a dirty word.

與過去八年的說法相反，監管並不是一個髒詞。

Letting institutions gamble with our homes, our jobs, our savings, our futures?

讓機構拿我們的家園、工作、儲蓄和未來做賭注？

Now that is really nasty.

這才是真正的下流。

Get the facts.

瞭解事實。

Take action. www.citizen.org

www.citizen.org