美国国家公共电台 NPR--The IAEA says it's worried about the stability of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

The IAEA says it's worried about the stability of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Transcript¹

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says it's concerned about the stability of the plant in Ukraine under Russian control. The IAEA called for a security protection zone to prevent a nuclear accident.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

U.N. inspectors² have painted an alarming picture of conditions inside a damaged nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Yeah. The United Nations has once again called for both Russia and Ukraine to stop fighting around that particular nuclear plant.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Frank Langfitt joins us now from southern Ukraine.

Frank, what are the most worrisome things that inspectors found?

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: Yeah, A. Terrible working conditions is one thing. And they said it made it more likely that workers could make dangerous mistakes. The plant has just 80 staff for its fire brigade. That's instead of the normal 150. Of course, this plant is really dangerous. It's been subject of sporadic⁴ shelling back since early - I think, early August. There was a case last month where an employee was injured in an artillery⁵ barrage⁶, and he happened to be at the time near a spent nuclear fuel building. And also, the concern - big one, of course, is repeated damage to these external power lines that we've been talking a lot about. They're crucial to running the pumps that push water to cool the nuclear reactor⁷ core to prevent, of course, a meltdown.

MART?NEZ: OK. Anything encouraging that inspectors may have found?

LANGFITT: Yeah. There was one, I thought. And they said that even without power, the inspectors say that the plant still has a lot of diesel⁸ fuel to run emergency generators⁹. Normally, they would have enough for, say, 10 days, A. They've used some of that because they did lose power at one point. But I think the hope is that they would have enough for at least a number of days to keep the nuclear reactor core cool and figure out either some kind of other solution or, of course, in the worst-case scenario¹⁰, a big evacuation.

MART?NEZ: All right. How have Ukraine and Russia responded to the report?

LANGFITT: Well, President Zelenskyy said yesterday that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations organization, needs more power to actually enforce its findings. But, of course, this is just a U.N. agency, and this is - we're talking about a war zone. Now, at the National Security Council, the Russian representative - he mischaracterized the report, the details of which I was just talking about, and said it actually praised the Russians for keeping the plant safe, which is definitely not true. Both sides, of course, as we've been reporting, have blamed each other for the shelling.

But the Russians say that they've given data to the U.N. that shows that the Ukrainians are behind it. And they want the U.N. to say this very specifically. This is what the representative at the Security Council said through a translator.

VASILY NEBENZYA: (Through interpreter) We regret that this source of shelling is not directly named. We do understand your position as the head of an international regulator. But in the current situation, it's very important to call things by their name.

MART?NEZ: Frank, how far are you from the planet, and what's the reaction where you are to the inspectors' findings?

LANGFITT: Yeah, A, I think about 65 miles west. I'm in the city of Kryvyi Rih. And the concern, of course, would be, if there's a meltdown, radioactive clouds coming this way and maybe going to a lots of other cities. When I was talking to people this morning, they really weren't paying that much attention to the U.N. report. And they say with - this happens, they're just going to deal with it. I was talking outside a barbershop to a guy named Sergey Daravic (ph), and here is what he had to say.

SERGEY DARAVIC: (Non-English language spoken).

LANGFITT: "For a long time, I viewed the U.N. as impotent. Except for expressing deep concern, they don't really say anything," he says. Then he goes on, "we're concerned about the overall Russian aggression¹¹ and the threat to our statehood. The nuclear plant is just a small detail. I'm not that concerned about it." So, you know, it's remarkable¹². After seven months of war, A, people look at the potential of a meltdown, which would have been unthinkable, you know, back in, say, January, as just another problem here.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Frank Langfitt in Ukraine. Frank, thanks.

LANGFITT: Good to talk, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

5 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

6 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

7 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

8 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

9 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

11 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

12 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。