VOA慢速英语2015--无数动物死于加州石油泄漏

AS IT IS 2015-06-04 Animals Dying in California Oil Spill 无数动物死于加州石油泄漏

Dead animals have been found along the coast of Central California almost every day for the past two weeks. On May 19, a pipeline¹ broke, releasing thousands of liters of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and onto California beaches. 

It will be many years before scientists know how the oil spill will affect the area’s ecosystem² and environment.

But rescue workers are taking action now, helping³ animals affected⁴ by the spill. 

VOA visited SeaWorld San Diego, the main care center for sea animals covered in oil.

The elephant seals and California sea lions do not like staying at SeaWorld San Diego. But its Oiled Wildlife Care Center offers these wild animals their best chance at surviving.

Jody Westberg is one of the people who have been working to rescue the oil-covered creatures.

“Right now, these are two of the most severely⁵ oiled animals we have in the area. This sea lion should be a beautiful reddish color, and what we’re actually seeing is little glimmering⁶ spots of that beautiful reddish tone of its fur, but the rest is coated in what looks like black tar⁷.”

The rescue crews have been working hard to clean the animals so they can return to the wild. It is not easy work. Jody Westberg says the oil spill may have affected the workers, too.

“This is hard on us. This is hard on us physically⁸, emotionally, mentally. We’re putting a lot of time, effort and energy into getting these animals better and to see them this impacted, you know, it breaks your heart a little bit.”

Todd Schmitt is a veterinarian, a doctor who cares for animals. He works at SeaWorld. He says workers must quickly remove the oil from the animals’ skin.

“We wanna wash it off them so they don’t continue to absorb it through their skin or continue to inhale⁹ it.”

Dr. Schmitt says the animals can suffer lung damage and other health problems from breathing in fumes¹⁰ from the oil. He adds that if a female seal lion absorbs -- or takes in -- the oil, her first pup may not live.

The oil spill is causing other problems for the sea lions that live in ocean waters along the coast. An unusually large number of the animals have washed up on California’s beaches this year. Dr. Schmitt says they are starving.

“There’s not a food fish available so they’re really scouring¹² the environment to find any type of food that they can.”

Dr. Schmitt says many more animals may be dying than the numbers being reported.

“There’s a lot of animals that we may not be seeing that are part of this oil spill that are not being recovered and they may be dying out at sea.”

Brown pelicans¹³ and other sea birds are also feeling the effects of the oil spill. Their feathers hold air that keeps the birds warm. But when oil covers the feathers, the bird’s body temperature can drop to a dangerously low level. The oil is heavy, and difficult to wash off. But veterinarians say pelicans are strong creatures.

Words in This Story

ecosystem – n. everything that exists in a particular environment; an ecosystem includes living things, such as plants and animals, and things that are not living, such as rocks, soil, sunlight and water

coated – adj. covered in

absorb – v. to take in (something, such as a liquid) in a natural or gradual way

inhale – v. to breathe in

fumes – n. smoke or gas that smells unpleasant

pup – n. one of the young of various animals

scour¹¹ – v. to search (something) carefully and thoroughly

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

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 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

7 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 inhale   

v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟)

参考例句：

• Don't inhale dust into your lung.别把灰尘吸进肺里。
• They are pleased to not inhale second hand smoke.他们很高兴他们再也不会吸到二手烟了。

10 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

11 scour   

v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷

参考例句：

• Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
• We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。

12 scouring   

擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤

参考例句：

• The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
• This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。

13 pelicans   

n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kurt watched the Pelicans fire their jets and scorch the grass. 库尔特看着鹈鹕运兵船点火，它们的喷焰把草烧焦。 来自互联网
• The Pelican Feeding Officers present an educational talk while feeding the pelicans. 那个正在喂鹈鹕的工作人员会边喂鹈鹕边给它上一节教育课。 来自互联网