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.
世界石油价格大幅下跌已经导致美国石油公司解雇了数千名工人。一些公司还暂停了新的石油钻探和勘探项目。油价下跌也影响到了小型服务公司，甚至影响到同德克萨斯州等石油生产大州的石油公司做生意的商店。但油价下跌并非对所有人都不利。
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.
石油平台工人通常被称之为钻工。在德克萨斯州，很多钻工都因为油价下跌失业。油价下跌对阿拉斯加和北达科他州等州的影响更糟糕。这是因为这里的生产成本比德克萨斯州中南部的鹰滩地区要高。
Some oil drilling projects are working to keep their costs low. If the price of oil stays above $40 a barrel, they can still make a profit.
一些石油开采项目都在努力维持低成本。如果油价维持在每桶40美元以上，它们仍然可以盈利。
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.
亚当·珀杜（Adam Perdue）是休斯顿大学区域预测研究所的一名经济学家。他一直在研究油价下跌对德克萨斯州的影响。
Mr. Perdue 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 says the city of Houston experienced five percent growth rates in recent years. He thinks the lower spending will affect the local economy.
珀杜先生说，石油公司的勘探生产预算被削减了10%到50%，其中大部分预算被削减了1/3。他说，休斯敦市最近几年的经济增长速度达到了5%。他认为开支减少将会影响当地经济。
"We're predicting that there's gonna be 20,000 fewer jobs than there would have been otherwise. So, we're still predicting growth in the Houston area; it's just gonna slow down to a more reasonable rate of about, or just under two percent."
他说，“我们预计该地区将比以往减少2万个工作岗位。因此我们仍然预计休斯敦地区的经济增长将会放缓到一个更为合理的水平，例如2%以下。”
The economic slowdown will affect companies that manufacture 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.
经济放缓将会影响到为石油勘探生产公司生产管道等设备的公司。它还会对运输沙子和化学品的卡车公司，以及为能源行业提供服务的小企业产生影响。
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.
但是低油价有利于化工企业。他们使用石油中的碳氢化合物制造化肥、塑料等产品。珀杜表示，休斯敦附近的一个新化工厂项目将为许多技术工人提供就业机会。
"A lot of these roughnecks that are gonna lose their jobs out there in the field are gonna be able to come home and, and, and get a welding job or a construction job."
他说，“很多即将失业的钻工可以回到这里获得一份焊接工作或施工工作。”
He says oil industry experts believe prices will rise again in about six months when the oversupply of oil is reduced. Experts say the oversupply resulted from expanded production. But he says if those predictions are wrong and oil prices continue to fall, the economy of Houston and Texas will be hurt much more.
他说，石油行业专家认为油价在六个月内将会再次上涨，届时石油供大于求的局面将会缓解。专家表示，供大于求导致了生产扩大。但他表示，如果预测错误，油价继续下跌，休斯敦和德克萨斯州的经济将会受到更大伤害。
I'm Christopher Cruise.
我是克里斯托弗·克鲁斯（Christopher Cruise）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)