cap

據報道，美國夏威夷州從本周三開始對汽油批發價格采取限制措施，它也成為美國第一個對油價進行限制的州。外電報道如下：

In an effort to gain some control over what motorists pay at the pump, Hawaii on Wednesday became the first state in the U.S. to setcapson the wholesale price of gasoline.

The 2004 law authorizing the caps was intended to force Hawaii's two refiners, Chevron Corp. and Tesoro Corp., to set their wholesale prices closer to mainland rates. Proponents of the law said the refiners were taking advantage of the small, isolated market to charge exorbitant prices.

此處的Cap可不是"帽子"的意思，而是put a limit on (the amount of money that can be charged or spent in connection with a particular activity) 表示"限制"。如：We're trying to cap costs by keeping salary increases low.（我們通過保持工資的低增長來限制成本。）再如：Central government has imposed a cap (= limit) on local tax increases.（中央政府對地方稅收實行限制。）

（中國日報網站編）