环球英语 — 37： The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Sara DeKoster. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The town of Cordova was a very profitable² fishing port in the state of Alaska in the United³ States. Fishermen there made a lot of money. They breathed the ocean air. They loved fishing. They supported their families by catching⁴ some of the best fish in the world. But their lives changed on March 24 1989.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on the Exxon Valdez oil spill⁵ in the Prince William Sound.
Voice 1
The Prince William Sound is an area of water on the coast the northwest United States. Many different kinds of animals live in the sound. The ocean, and the fish that live in it, are an important part of the area’s economy⁶. But oil is also an important part of Alaska’s economy.
Voice 2
On the night of March 23 1989, the Exxon Valdez, a crude⁷ oil tanker⁸ ship, left port in Valdez Alaska. It travelled south through the Prince William Sound. The ship was full of oil. Captain Hazelwood was leading the ship. He sent a radio message to the Coast Guard. He said that the he was going to turn the ship in a different direction. He wanted to avoid damage from ice floating in the cold water.
Voice 1
Captain Hazelwood turned the ship to travel a new path. The ship passed by the ice. Before he went to sleep, the captain told a crew⁹ member to turn the ship back in the correct path. But the crew member turned the ship too quickly. This was not where Captain Hazelwood wanted to go. They were travelling towards Bligh Reef¹⁰, a group of rocks under the water.
Voice 2
At four [4] minutes past twelve [12] o-clock on March 24 the ship’s metal body hit Bligh Reef. The rocks of the reef broke open the side of the ship. The oil inside the ship began to flow out into the ocean. The thick black oil floated on the surface of the water.
Voice 1
The captain sent a radio message to authorities¹¹ on land. He told them what had happened. He asked the authorities to send help. But the spill happened far away from land. There was not an easy way for rescue and cleaning crews¹² to travel to the ship quickly. Workers could not stop the leaking¹³. They tried to contain the oil. But they did not succeed. The ship leaked¹⁴ oil into the ocean for two days. More than forty-one million [41,000,000] gallons¹⁵ of oil spilled into the ocean.
Voice 2
The wind and waves moved the oil to land. The oil covered one thousand nine hundred [1,900] kilometres of the rocky¹⁶ coast. The oil affected¹⁷ the animals living in the water and on the coast. Birds could not fly because of the oil on their wings. The oil entered the bodies of fish, and other animals living in the water. Their bodies could not work correctly. They could not swim, fly, eat or stay warm. The oil harmed large and small animals. Hundreds of thousands of animals died.
Voice 1
The Exxon Company had to clean the spill. But they received help from the military¹⁸ and people who lived in the area. Many teams of people worked to clean the coast and the surviving animals. The teams used different methods to clean up the oil. In some areas they burned oil floating on the water. Other crews used machines to gather the oil. But the oil and plants in the water damaged the machines. Some crews used chemicals to break down the oil. But the waves were not large enough to mix the chemical with the oil.
Voice 2
Other teams used hot water at a high pressure to move the oil off the rocks back into the water. Workers would then collect the oil from the surface of the water. Some people even cleaned the oil-covered rocks by rubbing¹⁹ them with cloth. The oil travelled down the coast for more than a month. It took a very long time to clean the oil from the coast. Workers would clean an area, but then the ocean current²⁰ would change. Oil would cover the clean areas again.
Voice 1
It took four summers for Exxon to clean the oil from the spill. But even today, you can find oil under rocks in some areas. The state of Alaska ordered the Exxon company to pay six million [6,000,000] dollars as punishment for the accident. But the company appealed the fine. Every time a court made a decision, they appealed. Exxon still has not paid the people of Alaska.
Voice 2
The spill had long-lasting effects. The oil did a lot of damage to the environment. But it also affected the people living in the cities and towns on the coast. These people made their living by working in the ocean. They needed the oceans to be healthy. The fishing industry suffered when the spill killed many fish. Riki Ott, used to be a fisherman in the area.
Voice 3
“We saw the worst effects of the spill four and five years after the spill, not in 1989.”
Voice 1
Some fish populations have recovered since the accident. But fishermen in Cordova say that people do not want to buy their fish. People are afraid that the fish may not be healthy.
The fisherman can no longer make enough money to support their families. Many have moved from their homes to find other work. The towns depend on the fishing industry. When the fish leave, the fishermen leave. When the fishermen leave, the town can not survive.
Voice 2
The oil spill in Alaska is not the only oil spill that has happened. Oil spills²¹ happen too often. They happen all over the world. Almost every coast in the world has experienced²² an oil spill. Many oil spills are larger than the one in Alaska. They have happened in the Middle East, in Europe, and Africa.
Voice 1
These oil spills can effect the environment in very serious ways. It is important for oil companies to protect people and the environment. But it is also important for people like you and me to protect the environment. We all use oil in some way. People use oil in their cars, and in other machines around the house. Airplanes and trucks use oil for fuel to transport goods. Oil helps us live. But people must be careful with oil. All people must use oil responsibly²³. Do not let the oil you use damage the environment.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 profitable   

adj.有益的，能带来利益的，有利可图的

参考例句：

• That business became profitable last year.那项生意去年变得很赚钱。
• The convention business is very profitable for the hotel industry.承办会议业务能给旅馆业带来很高的利润。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

5 spill   

n.溢出，溅出，涌出，摔下，暴跌，溢出量，木片，小塞子；vt.使溢出，使散落，洒

参考例句：

• The coffee is so full that it might spill over.咖啡太满可能会溢出来。
• He took a spill when he rode the horse.他骑马时从马上跌了下来。

6 economy   

n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体

参考例句：

• We must do our best to develop the national economy.我们必须努力发展国民经济。
• The country's economy is not very healthy.国家的经济不很景气。

7 crude   

adj.粗鲁的，简陋的，天然的，未加工的；n.原油

参考例句：

• The cottage wears a very crude appearance.那幢农舍外观颇为简陋。
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil.汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。

8 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

9 crew   

n.全体船员，全体乘务员；vi.一起工作

参考例句：

• A captain controls his ship and its crew.船长管理他的船和船上的船员。
• The captain kept his crew at a distance.船长与他的船员总保持一段距离。

10 reef   

n.礁，礁石，暗礁

参考例句：

• The ship and its crew were lost on the reef.那条船及船员都触礁遇难了。
• The ship was wrecked on a coral reef.这条船在珊瑚暗礁上撞毁了。

11 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 crews   

n.一群（或一帮、一伙）人( crew的名词复数 )；全体船员；（赛船的）划船队员；一队（或一班、一组）工作人员

参考例句：

• Fire crews refused to cross the picket line. 消防人员拒不冲破围厂队伍人墙。
• They are the stage crews for the new play. 他们是这台新戏的舞台工作人员。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 leaking   

n.漏泄，耗散v.漏( leak的现在分词 )；渗入，漏出；使泄露

参考例句：

• The roof was leaking. 屋顶在漏雨。
• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子

14 leaked   

v.漏( leak的过去式和过去分词 )；渗入，漏出；使泄露

参考例句：

• When the pipe leaked, we sent for a plumber. 煤气或水管漏了的时候，我们就派人去找一位管子工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have leaked the information out to the press. 他们已经把消息泄露给了新闻界。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 gallons   

n.加仑( gallon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A cow will yield several gallons of milk each day. 一头母牛每天产几加仑的牛奶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I'd like five gallons of gin. 我要五加仑杜松子酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 rocky   

adj.岩石的，像岩石的；多岩石的

参考例句：

• She drives carefully up the rocky lane.她驾车小心地从这条很多石头的小路上驶过去。
• There is only one port along this rocky coast.这个多岩石的海岸只有一个港口。

17 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。

18 military   

n.军队；adj.军事的，军人的，好战的

参考例句：

• The area has been declared a closed military zone.这个地区已宣布为军事禁区。
• The king was just the tool of the military government.国王只是军政府的一个傀儡。

19 rubbing   

n. 摩擦, 研磨, 按磨

参考例句：

• This insect makes its strange noise by rubbing its back legs together. 这只昆虫摩擦它的两条后腿发出一种奇怪的声音。
• Jerry was already unhappy because he fumbled the ball,but his teammates kept rubbing it in. 本来杰瑞就很不高兴，因为他失了球，而他的队友们还一再提那件事。

20 current   

n.涌流，趋势，电流，水流，气流；adj.当前的，通用的，流通的，现在的，草写的，最近的

参考例句：

• Electric current is often powerful enough to kill a man.电流常强得足以致命。
• There is a story about her in the current number.最近一期上有关于她的故事。

21 spills   

n.洒出（量）( spill的名词复数 )；泼出（量）；溢出（量）；泄漏（量）v.溢出( spill的第三人称单数 )；泼出；涌出；蜂拥而出

参考例句：

• Another basis for recovery of damages for oil spills is state law. 获取石油泄漏损害赔偿的另一项法律基础是州的法律。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• All over the world, oil spills regularly contaminate coasts. 在世界各地，油溢出物经常污染着海岸。 来自辞典例句

22 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

23 responsibly   

ad.可靠地，可信赖地

参考例句：

• The report said that the doctor had acted very responsibly. 报告说医生的诊治是很负责的。
• They are emotionally mature and should behave responsibly. 他们在情感上已经成熟，应该负责任地行事。