VOA标准英语2013--Experts: Africa's Energy Facilities Could Face More Sophisticated Attacks
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2013年(二月)
Experts: Africa's Energy Facilities Could Face More Sophisticated Attacks
Terrorists with links to al-Qaida stormed a gas production complex in Algeria in January. They wrecked 1 equipment and took hostages. Government forces re-took the facility, but not before 37 hostages were killed.
Experts say energy facilities are targets because they are staffed by foreign engineers who can sometimes be exchanged for large ransoms 2, or bring attention to a cause.
The threat is growing in the Middle East, according to energy expert Bernard Weinstein, of Maguire Energy Institute in Texas. He spoke 3 via Skype.
"What is new is what appears to be a spurt 4 of terrorist activity in the Maghreb of North Africa," he said.
Weinsten says a “risk premium” already boosts the cost of oil by up to ten percent. Risk affects costs throughout the process of producing, transporting and selling oil and gas. For example, workers demand higher wages for serving in dangerous areas, and insurance costs more. Higher risks mean investors 5 might not put assets into oil companies unless they are assured higher returns.
Violence, or the threat of violence, can suppress supplies, thereby 6 raising the price.
Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Oil, said the impact of future attacks could be devastating 7.
“The economic repercussions 8 could be huge," said Faulkner. "If the needle moved five or eight dollars a barrel on oil, or if they had a major disruption in supply, and it went up by $50, that is going to cause prices at the pump of gasoline here to go up. It is going to cause a panic in the economies and the markets, and they can cause significant damage."
Gal 9 Luft, an energy expert, said cyber attacks are a growing concern for energy companies.
"As cyber terrorists realize the vulnerability, they may improve their technical sophistication and eventually develop capabilities 10 that could wreak 11 havoc 12 in global oil and gas markets," said Luft.
So far, the most serious cyber attacks have been aimed at power grids 13 rather than at oil or gas production. Luft said, however, that could change.
Meantime, oil prices that spiked 14 right after the Algeria attack remain high.
- The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
- Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
- He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
- After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿，莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。
- a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
- a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
- I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
- He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。
- It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
- Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。
- The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
- Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
- What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？
- He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
- Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
- Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。
- The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
- This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
- Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
- The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句