Petroleum: A Short History of Black Gold (2/2)

The modern history of oil started in the middle of the eighteen hundreds. At that time, a method was found to make kerosene" class="hjdict" word="kerosene" target=_blank>kerosene fuel from petroleum. This kind of fuel became popular for heating and lighting.

Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in the United States in eighteen fifty-nine near Titusville, Pennsylvania. In the early eighteen sixties, John D. Rockefeller entered the oil business. Rockefeller and his partners understood the power of controlling all levels of production. By eighteen seventy, Rockefeller and his partners formed the Standard Oil Company.

Standard Oil and other companies that it owned performed every level of production -- from drilling to refining to transporting and selling. But in its efforts to grow, Standard Oil was strongly criticized for crushing smaller competitors.

Finally, in nineteen eleven, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil was misusing its powerful market position. The ruling divided Standard Oil into thirty-four independent companies.

Today, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron are some of the companies whose roots go back to the breakup of Standard Oil. They are among the largest publicly traded companies in the world.

参考译文：

石油的现代史开始于18世纪中叶。那时，（人们)发现一种从石油中提炼煤油的方法。这种燃料作为取暖和照明的能源在当时十分受欢迎。

1859年埃德文.垂克在宾夕法尼亚的梯特斯维尔打出了美国的第一口油井。在19世纪60年代初，约翰D.洛克菲勒进入了石油业。他和他的同伴生产各生产链层中的产品。 并于19世纪70年代洛克菲勒和他的伙伴建立了标准石油公司。

标准石油和它所拥有的其他一些公司执行着各层次相关的生产--从钻探到石油提炼到运输和销售。但是，正当标准石油努力扩张时，标准石油由于摧跨小的竞争者而被严厉的指责和批评。

最终，在1970年，美国最高法院裁定美国高级法院裁定标准石油滥用其强大的市场地位。并裁定将标准石油公司拆分为34个独立的公司。

今天，艾克森美孚，康菲和雪铁龙的前身就来自于标准石油拆分后的公司。他们现在是世界上最大的公开上市交易的公司。