177. And consumers would wait up to a decade to gain any benefits, because drilling could begin only after much bargaining over leases, environmental permits and regulatory review.
譯文
消費者想獲得任何收益都要等上十年，因為開采之前必須對租約討價還價、得到環(huán)境保護許可證，還得通過管理機構(gòu)的檢查。
點睛
本句的主干是consumers would wait up to a decade。其中，because引導全句的原因狀語從句，該從句的主干是drilling could begin, after后是時間狀語。
本句中的drilling意為“鉆孔（取石油）”。如：
After months of drilling, oil was found off the coast. 經(jīng)過數(shù)月的鉆探，終于在沿海找到了石油。
lease意為“租約”。permit意為“許可證；執(zhí)照”。regulatory意為“規(guī)章的；制定規(guī)章的；受規(guī)章限制的；管理的”。如：
Complaint is referred to several regulatory bodies. 投訴被提交給好幾個管理機構(gòu)。
review意為“評審；檢查；復習；評論”。
考點歸納
注意up to的含義。
up to可以表示“取決于”。如：
It's up to him to do it. 這事該由他做。
在本句中，up to表示“直到”，后面接數(shù)詞或者時間。如：
1) This hotel can accommodate up to 500 guests. 這個旅館可容納500位客人。
2) Up to yesterday, I thought he was single. 直到昨天，我一直以為他是單身。
