What Narendra Modi asks of(向某人请求) Indians, he usually gets. During the pandemic India’s prime minister exhorted(竭力劝告，敦促) them to stay inside and to bang pots and pans(敲锅打盆（表示支持）) in support of health workers. The country obliged(顺从，照办). On May 10th he asked Indians to replicate(复制；重复) some of that covid-era discipline(新冠时期的纪律). He urged(敦促，力劝) them to work from home where possible, and to cut back on(削减，减少) foreign travel.
纳伦德拉·莫迪对印度人的要求通常都能实现。疫情期间，这位印度总理曾劝告他们待在家里，敲击锅盆以表示对医护人员的支持。印度照办了。5月10日，他要求印度人复制一些新冠时期的纪律。他敦促他们在可能的情况下居家办公，并减少出国旅行。
Mr Modi’s plea(恳求，请求) comes amid a worsening energy shock(在日益恶化的能源冲击中) caused by the war in Iran. For weeks the Indian government has kept fuel prices constant(不变的，恒定的), forcing state-owned oil firms to absorb(吸收；承受（成本）) a surge(激增，急剧上升) in the cost of imported crude. And India is just the latest of many Asian countries asking people to tighten their belts(勒紧裤腰带，节省开支). But even those that moved early to control energy use, such as Thailand and the Philippines, are now entering dangerous territory(进入危险区域). The effects of the war are threatening to upend(颠覆，彻底改变) the region’s economies—and its politics.
莫迪的请求出现在伊朗战争导致能源冲击不断恶化之际。数周来，印度政府一直保持燃料价格不变，迫使国有石油公司吸收进口原油成本飙升。印度只是众多要求民众勒紧裤腰带的国家中的最新一员。但即使是那些较早采取行动控制能源使用的国家，如泰国和菲律宾，如今也正进入危险地带。战争的影响正威胁着颠覆该地区的经济——以及政治。
In places without fuel-price caps(燃料价格上限), such as Pakistan and the Philippines, prices have soared(飙升，急剧上升) (see chart). But the rising concern, especially in developing Asia, is that supplies could simply run out(用完，耗尽). Indonesia is reported to have a buffer(缓冲；缓冲储备) of three weeks’ fuel; Vietnam has less than a month. People in Pakistan and Bangladesh, reliant on(依赖，依靠) natural gas from the Gulf, have endured long blackouts(停电，断电). Petrol pumps in rural areas are running dry(逐渐干涸；耗尽). “We wake up at 2am and often wait 24 hours just to get two litres of diesel,” says Mizanur Rahman, a farmer in Bangladesh.
在没有燃料价格上限的地区，如巴基斯坦和菲律宾，价格已经飙升（见图表）。但日益增长的担忧——尤其是在发展中亚洲——是供应可能直接耗尽。据报道，印度尼西亚有三周的燃料缓冲；越南则不到一个月。巴基斯坦和孟加拉国依赖海湾天然气的人们经历了长时间的停电。农村地区的汽油泵正在干涸。“我们凌晨2点起床，常常要等24小时才能买到两升柴油，”孟加拉国农民米赞努尔·拉赫曼说。
