2006年VOA标准英语-Authorities Scramble to Rescue Trapped Min

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
03 January 2006

Authorities in the U.S. state of West Virginia are scrambling¹ to rescue 13 coal miners who have been trapped 80 meters underground, after an explosion Monday morning.  

Washington District firefighter Rick Black waits for news about 13 trapped miners at Sago Mine   
  
Mine disasters, regardless of how frequently they occur, are dramas in any country.  The United States is no exception, as authorities hold out hopes they can still rescue 13 miners, who were trapped in West Virginia's Sago Mine, following an unexplained explosion. 

Ben Hatfield is from International Coal Group, the company that owns the mine.  He said tests have found that levels of the deadly gas carbon monoxide far exceeded the maximum safety level set by federal regulatory limits, a development that has hampered² rescue efforts.  Mr. Hatfield said rescuers successfully drilled a tunnel into the mine and lowered a camera into a section where they expected the miners to be, but found no signs of them.

"There is hope they could be in another location or barricaded³ somewhere, protected from that level of carbon monoxide," he said.  "But, certainly, if they were in this particular location, that's not an environment that would sustain life."

Despite the less than encouraging news, West Virginia governor Joe Manchin told the ABC television program Good Morning, America he is not yet ready to give up.

"We're still hoping for a miracle, as you know," he said.

On Tuesday, Governor Manchin spoke⁴ with President Bush, who expressed his concern from Washington.

"I told him that Americans all across our country are praying for the miners who are trapped in the mine there in West Virginia," said Mr. Bush.  "I told him that I appreciated the great outpouring of compassion⁵ from the West Virginia citizens toward those worried family members.  I also assured him that the federal government will help the folks in West Virginia any way we can to bring those miners out of that mine hopefully in good condition."

The Bureau of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration has a mobile command center and a rescue robot on the scene.  The administration says mine disasters, where at least five people are killed, were more common in the United States in the early part of the 20th century, but have declined dramatically after decades of research.  The most recent U.S. mine disaster claimed 13 lives in Alabama in December 2001. 

The cause of Monday's blast is not yet known, but coal mine explosions are typically caused by build-ups of naturally occurring methane⁶ gas, which is odorless and highly flammable.  Methane buildup is more of a problem in the winter, because barometric⁷ pressure causes more of the gas to be released.

1 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

3 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

7 barometric   

大气压力

参考例句：

• Electricity compensates for barometric pressure as well as system pressure variations. 用电补偿大气压和系统压力的变化。
• A barometric altimeter indicates height above sea level or some other selected elevation. 气压高度表用以指示海平面或另外某个被选定高度以上的高度。