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　　President Obama has described as a positive sign BP's statement that oil has, at least temporarily, stopped leaking into the Gulf¹ of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon well site. President commented briefly² on the issue after returning from a visit to Michigan.
英国石油公司发表声明称至少是已经暂时制止了深水地平线油井向墨西哥湾泄漏原油。奥巴马总统星期四在从密西根返回之后发表简短评论，称这是一个积极的迹象。
Video of the Deepwater Horizon well site deep below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico showed a new more tighly-fitting cap installed by BP having stopped the flow of oil into the ocean.
深水地平线油井在墨西哥湾海底被拍摄到的录像显示，英国石油安装的密封性更强的新控油罩已止住了原油泄漏。
After delivering a main statement on the U.S. Senate's passage of a sweeping³ financial system reform bill, the president responded this way when asked about the development.
奥巴马总统就美国参议院通过一项全面改革金融系统议案发表主要讲话之后被问到漏油事件的最新发展，他回答说：
"I think it is a positive sign," said President Obama. "We are still in the testing phase, I'll have more to say about it tomorrow."
奥巴马说：“我认为这是一个积极的迹象。我们仍然是在测试阶段，明天我还要就这一问题发表更多的评论。”
Caution was understandable considering a statement from BP Thursday about the operation in the Gulf.
考虑到英国石油星期四就墨西哥湾的封堵行动发表的一项声明，奥巴马采取谨慎的态度是可以理解的。
BP said while it was expected no oil would be released during a pressure integrity test this could not assured, adding that even stoppage during testing would not indicate that oil and gas flow had permanently⁴ stopped.
英国石油在声明中说，尽管在压力测试期间，预料原油不会泄漏，但这也不能完全保证。英国石油还说，测试期间停止漏油并没有表明油气的流动已经彻底停止了。
BP said it had temporarily halted drilling operations on relief wells, which the company says remain the sole means to permanently seal and isolate⁵ the Deepwater Horizon well site.
If the latest BP capping operation does succeed in stopping the oil flow, it will be the best of news for people in Gulf states struggling with economic and environmental devastation⁶ from the nearly three month ordeal⁷.
如果英石油最新的封堵方案能够取得成功，这对于墨西哥湾沿岸各州的人来说无疑将是一个莫大的喜讯。近三个月来，这些州饱受漏油带来的经济和环境等方面的沉重打击。
It would be good news too for President Obama, who faced sharp criticism that his administration was slow to respond to the initial explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, which killed 11 crewmen.
漏油油井被封堵对于奥巴马总统也是好消息。自从4月20号深水地平线原油钻井平台发生导致11名工作人员丧生的爆炸事件以来，奥巴马政府就受到批评，说他们的反应迟缓。
The president has made clear he intends to maintain pressure on BP to fulfill⁸ obligations it has made to pay compensation to Gulf coast residents, through a $20 billion fund negotiated with the administration, and finance ongoing⁹ containment¹⁰ and cleanup operations.
奥巴马总统明确表示，他打算继续向英国石油施压，要求他们履行已经承诺的责任，通过与美国政府谈判达成的一项200亿美元的基金，向墨西哥湾沿岸居民支付赔偿金，为封堵和清除漏油的行动提供资金。
It remains¹¹ to be seen whether a successful stoppage of oil flowing into the Gulf will strengthen the president politically in coming months, after he faced tough polling numbers regarding his handling of the disaster.
最近在就奥巴马处理漏油灾难问题上进行的民意调查中，奥巴马的支持率下降。那么，成功地使原油不再流入墨西哥湾能否在今后几个月加强奥巴马总统的政治地位还有待于观察。
The president also faces ongoing pressure from Gulf state politicians over a new six month moratorium¹² on deepwater oil drilling announced this week. Mr. Obama says this was necessary because of ongoing uncertainty¹³ about safety in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
在本周宣布的一项为期6个月的深水原油钻探禁令问题上，奥巴马总统目前还面临着墨西哥湾沿岸各州政界人士的压力。奥巴马说，实行这项禁令是必要的，因为在深水地平线灾难之后，深水原油钻探的安全性还不确定。
Steps are continuing in the U.S. Congress to dramatically change existing U.S. laws regarding offshore¹⁴ oil drilling, including imposing¹⁵ new environmental safeguards, with numerous pieces of legislation awaiting action.
美国国会继续采取步骤，要显著地改变与近海原油钻探有关的现行美国法律，包括实行新的环境安全措施。许多相关议案都在等候下一步采取的行动。