摘要：
    由于受到飓风“卡特里娜”的影响，目前美国很多地方的汽油零售价格已经上升到每加仑3美元以上，但有些加油站却因其油泵无法将价格设置在相应的标准上，而不得不将顾客拒之门外。
    As gasoline prices vault to well over $3 a gallon in many parts of the United States, some gas retailers are turning customers away because their pumps can't be set above $3.

    由于受到飓风“卡特里娜”的影响，目前美国很多地方的汽油零售价格已经上升到每加仑3美元以上，但有些加油站却因其油泵无法将价格设置在相应的标准上，而不得不将顾客拒之门外。

    据路透社9月3日报道，美国佛蒙特州的政府官员于9月2日表示，在该州的乡村地区，有大约200个加油站所使用的油泵太过古老，以至于无法适应较高的油价。在遭受到“卡特里娜”飓风带来的灾难性后果之后，美国汽油零售价已攀升至每加仑3美元以上，这也使得上述地区的一些加油站不得不关闭了它们的油泵。

    佛蒙特州中部地区的一位商店老板比尔·麦克唐纳说：“我知道这里的油泵过于古老，但我的确没想到油价会上涨得如此之快。”他所用的油泵已有25年的历史，无法显示任何高于每加仑2.99美元的价格。麦克唐纳在9月1日将油泵内剩余的汽油全部以低于每加仑3美元的价格售出后，然后便将其短暂关闭。

    报道说，当地官员在9月1日晚些时候做出决定，允许像麦克唐纳这样的汽油零售商将其油泵上的价格信息遮盖住，而只显示所售汽油的加仑数。他们可以在公路边设立广告牌以显示汽油的售价，加完油后再与顾客面对面的计算费用。

    （国际在线独家资讯 张咏）

本稿件为国际在线专稿，媒体转载请注明稿件来源和译者姓名。

    As gasoline prices vault to well over $3 a gallon in many parts of the United States, some gas retailers are turning customers away because their pumps can't be set above $3.

    About 200 gas sellers in rural Vermont own pumps too old to compute the higher prices, state authorities said on Friday, causing some to shut their pumps when prices spiked above $3 after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

    "I knew my pump was old but I didn't expect prices to rise this fast," said Bill MacDonald, owner of central Vermont's Waits River General Store, whose 25-year-old pumps can't display any price above $2.99 a gallon (4.5 litres).

    MacDonald kept selling below $3 until his pumps ran dry on Thursday and then briefly closed until authorities could find a solution. Another operator, Elmore Store, shut its antique pumps after facing the same problem.

    Officials decided late on Thursday to allow retailers like MacDonald to cover up all price information and only display the number of gallons pumped.

    They could advertise the price per gallon on roadside signs and then compute the charge face-to-face with customers, said David Lane, Vermont's Deputy Secretary for Agricultural Development.

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