VOA标准英语2009年-Australia Oil Spill Spreads Contamination

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
20 October 2009

 

 
Australia's worst oil slick since the mid-1980s is now tainting¹ Indonesian waters. Fishermen in West Timor say contaminated fish are making villagers ill.

Oil began leaking two months ago, following an accident on the West Atlas² drilling platform, which lies about 200 kilometers off the coast of Western Australia.
 
Since then, the millions of liters of oil have poured into the water, prompting concerns for the health of endangered turtles as well as whales and dolphins.
 
Indonesian fishermen say the slick has killed of thousands of fish and is causing illness among villagers who have eaten tainted³ seafood⁴.
 
Three attempts to plug the leak on the rig, which is owned by a Thailand company, have failed.
 
The Conservative opposition's environment spokesman Greg Hunt says the accident has been a calamity⁵ for the fishing industry and the fragile marine⁶ ecosystem⁷.
 
"This is a deep ocean tragedy. It is affecting marine life," Hunt said. "There can be no doubt that that is the case and what we are hearing from reports from the fishing community both in Australia and overseas is that there are real effects on marine life."
 
The Australian Maritime⁸ Safety Authority says the flow of oil from the damaged well appears to be slowing. Boats have been spraying chemicals to help disperse⁹ the slick and stop it spreading.
 
An authority spokeswoman says the effect on wildlife had been minimal¹⁰.
 
Environmentalists, however, worry about the long-term effects of contamination on vulnerable marine species, including flat-back turtles, dolphins and whales. They are also concerned about whether a planned expansion of the oil and gas industry in the region will be safe.
 
It is unclear when a fourth attempt to stop the flow of oil will take place. Engineers have been trying to cap a hole 25 centimeters wide, which lies deep beneath the seabed. The rig's owners say that plugging the leak is an "extraordinarily¹¹ complex" task.

1 tainting   

v.使变质( taint的现在分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

2 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

3 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

5 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

8 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

9 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

10 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

11 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。