VOA标准英语2010年-Officials Warn of Ecological Disaster

Italian environmental officials are warning of an ecological¹ disaster in Italy caused by an oil spill flowing down the Po River. They say water and bird species are at risk, as well as a fertile agricultural area. The say the oill spill has already caused significant damage and the scale of the problem is dramatic.
 
Italian authorities say it is a race against time to stop a massive oil slick flowing down Italy's longest river. The black tide continues down the Po River and is expected to reach the Adriatic by the weekend.  Recent heavy rains have swollen² the river allowing the oil to move quickly despite efforts to contain it.
 
In an urgent report to parliament on Thursday, environment undersecretary Roberto Menia said the oil slick would reach the Adriatic within a maximum of 70 hours.
 
The official said three-and-a-half million liters of oil have already poured into the river and the environmental devastation³ is there for everyone to see. The oil has already killed hundreds of birds and fish. Residents have been told to avoid drinking tap water. They say there is a terrible stench.

This woman says they are not only concerned but also angry. What is the point of stopping cars for pollution, she asks, and then these kinds of things are done.
 
Efforts have been underway using at least five floating barriers to trap the oil on the waterway's surface. But it is proving to be a difficult task for civil protection officials and fire-fighting teams dispatched to the area.
 
Two Italian regions, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, have already requested that a state of emergency be declared. Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo flew over the entire affected⁴ area by helicopter on Thursday.
 
The oil spill began Tuesday following what environmental authorities are calling "a true act of environmental terrorism." The oil stored in tanks in a former refinery⁵ was sabotaged⁶ when someone opened the main valve.
 
Police say the saboteur must have had a working familiarity with the refinery to be able to open the tank's main valve and send tons of oil pouring out.
 
Officials say the act was intentional⁷ and an investigation⁸ has been opened into the spill, which is already more than 100 kilometers long.
 
Damiano di Simine, Lombardy president for the Legambiente environmental group, said immediate⁹ action should have been taken to avoid such a disaster.
 
The criminal act itself is extremely serious, he says, but even more serious is the fact that the oil was allowed to pour out for hours without anyone intervening or even realizing what was happening.
 
Meanwhile the oil spill has reached Italy's important food-producing province of Parma. But farm groups were quick to reassure¹⁰ that the food chain is safe because farm production is low at this time of the year.

The Po river valley is the most important agricultural region in Italy, producing a third of Italy's agricultural output.

 

1 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

2 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

6 sabotaged   

阴谋破坏（某事物）( sabotage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The main pipeline supplying water was sabotaged by rebels. 供水主管道被叛乱分子蓄意破坏了。
• They had no competition because competitors found their trucks burned and sabotaged. 他们之所以没有竞争对象，那是因为竞争对象老是发现自己的卡车遭火烧或被破坏。 来自教父部分

7 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。