世界油价狂跌对美国社会的影响

中等

高中二年级

记叙文

世界与环境

世界油价的持续暴跌，使美国的石油公司大量裁员，并削减勘探和生产预算，影响了地方经济的发展。同时，它对一些生产石油附属品的厂家却是有利的。

The sharp drop in world oil prices has led oil companies in the United States to dismiss thousands of workers. Some companies have also suspended new oil drilling and exploration projects. The drop in oil prices has also affected small service companies and even stores that do business with oil companies in big producer states like Texas. But the drop in oil prices has not been bad for everyone.

世界油价暴跌导致美国石油公司解雇了成千上万的员工。一些公司还暂停了新的钻油和探测项目。油价的下跌还影响了小型服务公司，甚至影响了像德克萨斯州这样的大生产州里与石油公司做生意的商店。但是油价的下跌并不是对每个人都不利的。

Oil platform workers are often called roughnecks. In Texas, many roughnecks have lost their jobs because of the drop in oil prices. The effect of falling prices has been worse in states like Alaska and North Dakota. That is because production costs are higher there than they are in the Eagle Ford area of south-central Texas.

石油平台的员工通常被称作钻工。在德克萨斯州，许多钻工已经因为油价的下跌而失去工作。油价下跌在阿拉斯加州和北达科他州等地带来了糟糕的影响。因为那里的生产成本要比德克萨斯州南部和中部鹰福特地区生产成本高。

Adam Perdue is an economist at the University of Houston’s Institute for Regional Forecasting. He has been studying the effect of falling oil prices in Texas. He says oil company exploration and production budgets are being cut between 10 and 50 percent, with most of them being cut by a third. He thinks the lower spending will affect the local economy.

Adam Perdue是休斯顿区域洪水预报机构大学的一名经济学家。他一直在研究德克萨斯州油价下跌的影响。他说，石油公司的勘探和生产预算被缩减了百分之10和百分之50，其中还有许多倍缩减了三分之一。他认为低投入将影响本地经济。

The economic slowdown will affect companies that make pipes and other equipment for oil exploration and production. It will also have an effect on trucking companies that supply sand and chemicals, and other small businesses that serve the energy industry.

经济的下滑将影响那些为石油勘探和生产制作管道和其他设备的公司。也会影响提供沙子和化学品的运输公司，还会影响其他服务于能源产业的小公司。

But low oil prices are good for chemical companies. They use hydrocarbons found in oil to make fertilizer, plastic and other products. Adam Perdue says a new chemical plant project near Houston will provide jobs for many skilled workers.

但是，低的油价对化工企业有益。他们运用石油里的碳氢化合物制作肥料，塑胶盒其他产品。 Adam Perdue 说，休斯顿附近的一项新的化工厂项目将会为许多有技能的工人提供工作。