VOA常速英语:High Prices Trigger Rise in Copper Thefts

短语讲解：

1. Now, when you speak of copper and crime, you’re referring to the bad guys.

speak of谈到, 讲到
例句：They spoke of the old days on the campus.
他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
refer to提到
例句：Don't refer to this matter again, please.
请别再提这件事。

2. A combination of circumstances has led to a meteoric rise in thefts of copper from buildings, construction sites, and homes.

lead to导致, 引起
例句：In given conditions, a bad thing can lead to good results.
在一定条件下, 一件坏事可以导致好的结果。

3. Prices paid for scrap metal, especially copper, have skyrocketed, in part because of high demand from rapidly industrializing nations such as Brazil, China, and India.

pay for赔偿; 为…付钱
例句：He paid for the damage done.
他赔偿了造成的损失。

4. Pipes, wires, cables, gutters, copper coils in air conditioners and generators, even power lines are being ripped off - literally.

rip off欺骗;剥削
例句：That hotel rips off the tourists.
那家旅馆敲观光客的竹杠。

5. In rural Pennsylvania earlier this month, two brothers were charged with stealing an entire 15.5-ton bridge - cutting it apart with a blowtorch and selling it to a scrap-metal company.

charge with指控…犯有罪
例句：They charged him with negligence of duty.
他们指责他玩忽职守。

6. And if the storage tanks are copper, they’re carrying away the whole thing.

carry away拿走, 带走, 搬走
例句：The rubbish must be carried away.
垃圾必须运走。