moratorium

【词酷】每日一词：

moratorium[ˌmɔrəˈtɔ:riəm]:

1. 延期偿付（权）；延缓履行（权）；延期偿还期

2. 暂停期

3. 禁止或暂停活动

例句&延伸内容：

Increases in energy prices sharply accelerated during the past year, as the price of oil more than doubled, and gasoline prices in United States rose by 25 percent. Responding to these price increases, Senator McCain and President Bush have called for an end to the 27-year old federal moratorium on offshore drilling for oil and gas in US waters, while Senator Obama supports a continuation of the ban.（via The Becker Posner blog）

由于油价持续高企，美国总统布什和参议院麦凯恩提出，应当结束美国领海水域中的石油开采权的暂停期，而奥巴马议员则反对这样的计划。