CNN 2010-05-23

We known that Fridays are awesome¹, but you know what today’s show could use? A mascot² and we’ve got one coming up for you in about eight minutes. I’m Carl Azuz. Let’s get to it.

First up, top kill. It sounds like something pretty bad. Officials are hoping it will do something good though. Stop the oil leak in the Gulf³ of Mexico. The top kill, it’s also called a dynamic kill is something we mentioned earlier this week. You basically clog⁴ up the well with a special kind of mud. BP, the company that owns the well has been trying a bunch of ways to deal with this leak. One strategy is using dispersants, chemicals that help break up the oil. The Environmental Protection Agency is worried about this specific kind of chemical that’s being used. It’s ordered BP to start using a different dispersant in the next couple days. The Minerals Management Service is part of the US Interior Department. It’s in charge of regulating offshore⁵ oil drilling. It’s gotten some criticism lately for being too close to the industry it’s supposed to oversee⁶. There have been accusations⁷ of improper⁸ gifts, or improper behavior. Ken⁹ Salazar is the secretary of the interior. He is in charge of the Interior Department. He says he is working to clean up the Minerals Management Service and he is keeping an eye on the different strategies to clean up this oil spill.

'If something doesn’t work, they need to immediately fall back to other alternatives. We everyday are on top of BP relative to the different work streams that they have going on. This peculiar¹⁰ work stream that they call the dynamic kill is something that should come, according to their schedule, in play on Sunday. That will be an effort to essentially¹¹ kill the well through the insertion of mud. We are doing everything we can to hold BP accountable and we will hold them accountable on behalf of the American people.'
 

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 clog   

vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐

参考例句：

• In cotton and wool processing,short length fibers may clog sewers.在棉毛生产中，短纤维可能堵塞下水管道。
• These streets often clog during the rush hour.这几条大街在交通高峰时间常常发生交通堵塞。

5 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。