VOA标准英语2010年-US House Approves Oil Spill Reform Bil

Demonstrator John Moore holds a sign during a protest in Berkeley, California on 30 Jul 2010 to mark the 100th day anniversary of BP oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would impose new safety regulations on the offshore² oil-drilling industry.

House members voted 209 to 193 in favor of the Democrat-backed legislation late Friday, siding largely along party lines.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, would remove a $75 million limit on liability for oil spill damages and put a new tax on the industry to fund nationwide conservation projects.

Chellie Pingree, a Democratic Party congresswoman from Maine, said the legislation will have a number of positive consequences.

"In addition to cleaning up the mess, repairing the damage and cracking down on big oil companies, we also have to get serious about ending our dependence³ on oil and creating new sources of clean energy," she said.  "If we had a clean energy economy powered by wind and solar and tidal power we probably would not be here having this discussion today."

Republican Congressman⁴ Pete Sessions of Texas argued against the legislation, saying it will stifle⁵ job growth and hurt the economy.

"The Obama moratorium⁶ on deep water oil drilling has already cost tens of thousands of jobs," said Sessions.  "And this bill will eliminate even more American energy jobs, making it harder and more expensive to produce both energy on and offshore. Additionally, this legislation will only further enhance our economic troubles in the Gulf region and throughout the nation."

Jim McGovern, the Democratic Party congressman from Massachusetts disagreed.

"My friend talks about jobs. How many jobs have been lost because of this oil spill? How many fishermen are out of business, how many hotels and restaurants have lost business because of this terrible crisis?  So this is a good bill, and it is a smart bill.  And if you want to apologize to big oil go right ahead, but the American people are not on your side on this one," said McGovern.

The bill faces strong opposition⁷ in the Senate.  The upper house of Congress is not expected to take up the issue until September.

Earlier Friday, BP's incoming CEO Bob Dudley, said it is time to scale down the vast operation to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but he stressed his company's commitment to fully⁸ restore the environment.

Among other things, he said the company will establish a $100 million fund to support drilling-rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico who are unemployed⁹ because of the oil giant's massive spill.

 

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 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

6 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。