考研英語(yǔ)閱讀:稀土之戰(zhàn)

Rare Earth Battle

稀土之戰(zhàn)

Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, has called for the US and its partners to reduce their dependence on China ’s production of so-called rare earths, in some of the most forthright comments on the topic by a senior American official.

美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)卿希拉里·克林頓呼吁美國(guó)及其盟友減少對(duì)中國(guó)稀土的依賴，這是迄今為止美國(guó)高官就稀土問(wèn)題發(fā)表的最為坦率的言論之一。

But she welcomed a statement by Beijing on Thursday that it would not use its sway over the market as a bargaining tool with other economies.

中國(guó)政府周四表示，不會(huì)將中國(guó)在稀土市場(chǎng)中的主導(dǎo)地位看作是與其他經(jīng)濟(jì)體討價(jià)還價(jià)的工具。希拉里對(duì)此聲明表示歡迎。

China made that announcement after Mrs. Clinton decided to visit the country on her prolonged Asian tour.

中國(guó)政府是在希拉里決定延長(zhǎng)亞洲之行順便造訪中國(guó)之后發(fā)表以上聲明的。

She is due to meet Dai Bingguo, state counselor for foreign policy, in Hainan Island on Saturday.

她將于周六在海南島與中國(guó)負(fù)責(zé)外交政策的國(guó)務(wù)委員戴秉國(guó)會(huì)晤。

Rare earths are used for high-technology products such as precision-guided weapons and hybrid cars.

稀土是用于生產(chǎn)精確制導(dǎo)武器和混合動(dòng)力汽車等高科技產(chǎn)品的原料。

Beijing dominates the market with some 97 per cent of production, even though it has only 36 per cent of world reserves.

中國(guó)在稀土市場(chǎng)上占據(jù)主導(dǎo)地位，年產(chǎn)量占全球的97%左右，儲(chǔ)量只有全球總量的36%。

This year it has cut export quotas, increased duties and has been accused by Tokyo of choking off Japan’s supplies-an accusation China has denied.

今年，中國(guó)削減了稀土出口配額，提高了關(guān)稅。日本政府指責(zé)卡斷日本的稀土供應(yīng)——中國(guó)對(duì)此予以了否認(rèn)。

The Obama administration has also been looking into reports that China had halted some shipments to the US.

奧巴馬政府也在調(diào)查中國(guó)扣壓部分對(duì)美發(fā)貨的報(bào)告。

“The entire world has to seek additional supplies in order to protect the important production needs that these materials serve,” Mrs. Clinton said at a meeting in Hawaii with Seiji Maehara, Japan’s foreign minister.

希拉里在夏威夷會(huì)晤日本外相前原誠(chéng)司時(shí)表示：“全世界都必須另外尋找稀土的供應(yīng)源，以保護(hù)那些重要的生產(chǎn)需求。

“These are elements that are critical to industrial production, not only in Japan and the US.”

這些元素不只對(duì)日本和美國(guó)重要，它們?cè)谒袊?guó)家的工業(yè)生產(chǎn)中都發(fā)揮著至關(guān)重要的作用。”

Her comments come at a time of strain in US-Chinese ties over issues such as Beijing’s renminbi policy, its subsidies for green energy, and US efforts to deepen co-operation with many of China’s neighbors in south-east Asia.

希拉里發(fā)表上述言論之際，美中關(guān)系正陷入緊張。兩國(guó)間的主要問(wèn)題包括中國(guó)匯率政策、綠色能源補(bǔ)貼，以及美國(guó)與中國(guó)許多東南亞鄰國(guó)深度合作等。

Mrs. Clinton added that the current focus on rare earths “served as a wake-up call” that,

希拉里補(bǔ)充，當(dāng)前的稀土問(wèn)題“為我們敲響了警鐘”：

being so dependent on only one source, risked disruption through natural disasters or “other kinds of events”.

嚴(yán)重依賴某一種資源，可能在自然災(zāi)害或“其他事件”發(fā)生時(shí)帶來(lái)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

 

 

考研英語(yǔ)閱讀題源