美国之音2006新闻听力mp3国际风云标准英语03.docVIP

1 美国之音 2006新闻听力mp3国际风云(标准英语)03 01 加利福尼亚面临更严格的能源管制 California Faces More Power Blackouts Mike OSullivan Los Angeles 26 May 2001 02:41 UTC Many Californians are traveling this holiday weekend, easing demands on the states 1)strained electric power system. But officials in the state 2)predict there will be many days this coming summer when electrical shortages will lead to power 3)blackouts. The officials say they hope to minimize the impact. Managers of the Californias electrical power 4)grid say so-called rolling blackouts, or 5)intermittent power cuts, will probably darken parts of the state for about an hour at a time Officials order the blackouts when the power grid is strained, to keep it from 6)collapsing. But communities often receive only a few minutes warning. That creates the problem of 7)spoilage in companies that process food, for example, and the possible loss of data when businesses lose power to their computers. Shoppers in department stores can be trapped in elevators, and electrically powered doors fail to operate. Blackouts means that traffic signals fail to work at busy 8)intersections, and safety lights in 9)pedestrian walkways darken. This week, Californias Governor Gray Davis announced a plan to relieve some of these problems. From now on, if officials think a blackout is likely, they will make a general 10)forecast 48 hours 11)in advance. The general area of the blackouts will be named one day beforehand, and specific neighborhoods will get one hours warning. Officials refused to do that before out of concern that 12)burglars and other criminals might target neighborhoods where they know the power will be out. But Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said the advance notice will help police, as well as emergency workers: It gives law enforcement, fire, public safety workers, as well as public works elements and county officials the ability to come together in advance-plan fashion and actually go out and 13)deploy i