广播电视英语短句 第 55 课：石油生产国-2

Less than six months ago, oil traded at a record one hundred forty-seven dollars a barrel. 将近6个月前，石油交易创纪录达到每桶170美元。

Governments and oil companies in Russia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia spent billions of dollars to develop new oil fields. 俄国，巴西，沙特阿拉伯政府和石油公司花费数十亿美元开采新油田。

Now, oil is trading for less than forty dollars a barrel—down over seventy percent. 可现在，石油交易低于每桶40美元，下降超过70%。

At the root of the sharp price decrease is reduced demand because of the economic downturn. 油价急剧下降的根源是经济危机导致的石油需求量减少。

The American Petroleum Institute says demand for oil in the United States fell by three percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. 美国石油学会说，与去年同时期相比，美国上半年石油需求量下降了3%。