VOA标准英语2010年-Gulf Seafood Health Concerns Linger

MeTompkin Bay Oyster¹ Company president Todd Casey packages oysters² from Washington State because oyster beds shut down in Louisiana after the oil spill.
 

Todd Casey is the owner-operator of MeTompkin Bay Oyster Company and he's got a major problem, no oysters.

Casey's family-run business is located on Maryland's eastern Atlantic shore.

The oil spill in the Gulf³ of Mexico, a thousand kilometers away, cut off his main supply of oysters since April, shutting down his entire summer shucking operation.

He doesn't expect to start it up again until October when Maryland's local oyster season begins. "Oysters are probably 30-40 percent of what we do. The other 60 percent are crab⁴, soft crabs⁵ and crab meat."

Lingering problem

Seventy percent of the oysters Americans consume come from the Gulf of Mexico.

Casey says that economy is intimately tied to his own. "We sell product down there. They sell product up here. When their restaurants don't buy, their vacation season is cut short and people don't come to the beach, it effects our sales down there, and likewise they don't have anything to ship up here."

At the height of the oil spill disaster, approximately 37 percent of federally-managed Gulf waters were closed to fishing. By mid-August that was down to 22 percent.  

Casey remains⁶ cautious, waiting for signals from the Food and Drug Administration.

In a recent government hearing FDA senior food safety official Donald Kraemer address concerns from MeTompkin testifying that the FDA bases any decision to reopen fisheries on monitoring data. "We are able to vouch⁷ for the safety of those fish with respect to the contamination from the spill." Bill Lehr, senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁸ Administration or NOAA agreed that "the fish caught is meeting all the standards that were developed by FDA and NOAA." 

That level of security resonates with oyster farmer Mike Voisin, who came to testify from Houma, Louisiana where his family-run company harvests between 45 and 75 million oysters a year.

"In open waters where fish are being harvested commercially I would feed it to my kids and to my wife. And we do eat it often."

But getting the industry back on its feet will mean winning over the American public as well. In recent weeks conflicting reports from government officials and scientific experts have left consumers confused.

 
VOA - R. Skirble
Ryan Evans oversees⁹ Jessie Taylor Seafood¹⁰, a family business in Washington, DC, and is not buying from Gulf fisheries.
 

Continued uncertainty¹¹

That uncertainty permeates¹² a bustling¹³ open-air fish market not far from the U.S. Capitol. Under bright red and blue awnings¹⁴ vendors¹⁵ market a wide variety of fresh fish and serve up fresh oysters and steamed shrimp¹⁶ to passersby¹⁷.

Ryan Evans, whose family has run Jessie Taylor Seafood on this wharf¹⁸ for over 70 years, says although some Gulf fisheries have opened, he isn't buying.

"No, I haven't yet basically because I'd like to give it a little more time to make sure that everything is okay. I'm really not that comfortable telling my customers that something was coming out of the Gulf right now. I want to be as honest with them as possible."

For now he buys seafood elsewhere at higher prices and is not passing on the price hike to consumers. "I'm just trying to hang on. I'm really not making any money at it. I'm trying to survive."

 
VOA - R. Skirble
It's a record year for Maryland blue crabs, but sales to Gulf states are down.
 

Teloria and Abraham Odon are his loyal customers. They've just bought a half-bushel of local crabs and some fish.  While both have a healthy appetite for seafood, they differ over whether to eat seafood from the Gulf. 

Concerns about Gulf Seafood

"I am still questionable¹⁹ about that, Mrs. Odon says. "If I thought the seafood came from the Gulf, I might not eat it."  Her husband says he would probably eat a small amount.

Nearby, devouring²⁰ a plate of fresh oysters, are Michael and Janet Johnson, visiting from Henderson, North Carolina. 

Unlike Teloria Odom, the Johnsons wouldn't hesitate to buy Gulf seafood.  "If they are saying it is safe to eat, then I'll go with the government," Mr. Johnson says. 

His wife shakes her head in agreement, "I don't have any concerns. My concerns are for the people down in the Gulf. That's where my concerns go.  It's really on the economy."

But doubts about the safety of Gulf seafood linger on Capitol Hill, along with equally urgent concerns about the long-term environmental and public health effects of the massive oil spill, and the chemical dispersants used to hasten its cleanup.

1 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

2 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

3 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。

4 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。

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》

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 vouch   

v.担保；断定；n.被担保者

参考例句：

• They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。
• I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

8 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

9 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 permeates   

弥漫( permeate的第三人称单数 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透

参考例句：

• Studies show that water vapor quickly permeates plastic packaging material. 研究证明水蒸汽能迅速渗入塑料封装材料。
• Democracy permeates the whole country. 民主主义（的思想）普及全国。

13 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

14 awnings   

篷帐布

参考例句：

• Striped awnings had been stretched across the courtyard. 一些条纹雨篷撑开架在院子上方。
• The room, shadowed well with awnings, was dark and cool. 这间屋子外面有这篷挡着，又阴暗又凉快。

15 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

17 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。

18 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

19 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

20 devouring   

吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• The hungry boy was devouring his dinner. 那饥饿的孩子狼吞虎咽地吃饭。
• He is devouring novel after novel. 他一味贪看小说。