VOA标准英语2010年-Louisiana Fishermen Return to Check fo

The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed the first deposits of oil from the massive spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico have hit the shores of the southern state of Louisiana. The oil spill has local fishermen worried about possible contamination of their fishing grounds. One crew that that is worried has just returned to the water for the first time since the massive oil leak started two weeks ago.

Delacroix is the last stop in Louisiana's St. Bernard parish before the Gulf of Mexico begins.

For 30 years, Warren Guidroz has been fishing for crab² out of this town, nicknamed the end of the world. He hopes the growing oil leak in the gulf is not the end of his business. "It was a good year so far. Our best time was coming, it was really just starting. Now I don't know what is going to happen. Hopefully it doesn't put us out of business, because this is what we like to do," he said.

Guidroz is fueling his boat to return to the sea for the first time in two weeks. He has heard rumors³ about how close the oil is to shore. But he needs to see for himself if his crab traps are okay. "I hope they are how I left them. Because if they have oil in them, they are going to stay there. I'm not going to fool with that. We can't keep any crab. They shut us down. We have to dump them back in the water," he said.

Wildlife officials have suspended fishing here in Black Bay and other areas affected⁴ by the oil leak. The oil sheen may threaten the entire fishing season for hundreds of people in the gulf.

The first trap shows no signs of oil, only mud stirred up by recent storms. Normally, Guidroz would throw the traps back in, to catch more crab. Because of the spill, he feels safer taking them home.

He says no one seems sure of how bad the situation is, or what will happen down the road. "We went to the hazmat [hazardous material] safety classes, and you have one guy telling you if there's oil you don't want to be in it. And there is a wildlife agent telling us 'go pick up your traps, I don't care what they have on them.' You just don't know what to do," he said.

Normally these crabs⁵ would earn about $500, but the fishing ban means they can't be sold. Guidroz's son Warren Junior also is a fisherman. He saw the damage that Hurricane Katrina caused to the bayou in 2005. He worries the oil spill could do something far worse. "If the oil doesn't make it here, they say it'll be good for us. But if it gets in here, there ain't no telling because nobody went through this before," he said.

For now, the Guidroz will put fishing on hold while the oil cleanup continues.
 

1 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。

2 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

3 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 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 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》