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The Anatomy of an Oil Spill 漏油事件面面观

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez hit a reef off the Alaskan coast. The resulting oil spill covered 800 km of shoreline and devastated the neighboring coastal environment. Though the Valdez spill was the worst in U.S. history, oil spill are a daily risk and occurrence.

1989年3月24日，艾克森瓦尔迪兹油轮撞上阿拉斯加外海的珊瑚礁。结果发生了漏油污染，范围扩及800公里的海岸线，破坏了邻近的海岸生态环境。虽然凡德森漏油事件是美国史上最严重的一次，但漏油事件其实是天天都可能发生的危险事件。

An oil spill occurs when petroleum products are released into the environment due to human error, equipment malfunction, natural disasters, or, as is increasingly feared nowadays, intentional destruction. Of course, few oil spills approach the magnitude of the Valdez spill. Nevertheless, 14,000 spills of all sizes are recorded by the American EPA each year.

当石油制品因人为疏失、机械故障、天然灾害或是现今越来越令人担忧的蓄意破坏等因素，而被释放至环境中时，就会造成漏油事件发生。当然，很少有能达到像凡德森事件那样大规模的。然而，美国环境保护局在每年都记录到14,000起大大小小的漏油事件。

Most spills occur over salt water, forming oil slicks. As oil slicks get thinner they become sheens and take on a rainbow-like coloring. The effects on wildlife, as seen in Alaska, are devastating. Some animals are poisoned by ingesting oil while others are coated, leading to suffocation or exposure. Those animals that survive may pass poisonous chemicals up the food chain, culminating in a toxic fish sandwich for your lunch.

大部分的漏油事件都发生在盐水海域，形成一片片浮油。当浮油变的比较稀薄时，会显现出光泽，呈现出彩虹般的色彩。这些漏油事件对野生生态，像是在阿拉斯加，所造成的影响是极具毁灭性的。有些动物因为吃进油污而中毒，另外有些则是因为外表被油覆盖了，而导致窒息或长期曝露于油污的危险。得以幸存下来的则可能经由食物链传递有毒化学物质，最后，就成了你午餐中那有毒的鱼肉三明治。

Some large-scale oil spills take dozens of years to disappear from local eco-systems and food chains. Given this frightening reality, it’s imperative that we treat Mother Nature better … or face her wrath.

有些大规模的漏油需费时十年才能自地方生态系统及食物链中消失。有鉴于这惊人的事实，眼前当务之急就是要善待大自然，否则，我们就得面对大自然的反扑了。

Vocabulary

单词发音

anatomy [əˋnætəmɪ] n.（详细的）分析

reef [rif] n. 礁；暗礁

shoreline [ˋʃorlaɪn] n. 海岸线；岸线地带

devastate [ˋdɛvəs͵tet] v. 破坏；蹂躏

magnitude [ˋmægnə͵tjud] n. 巨大﹐庞大

slick [slɪk] n.（漂有浮油的）光滑水面；浮油

sheen [ʃin] n.〔外表的〕光泽﹐光彩 glistening brightness; luster ;  v. 发光，闪耀

take on 具有; 呈现 give the appearance

ingest [ɪnˋdʒɛst] v. 摄取〔食物〕; 咽下

suffocation [͵sʌfəˋkeʃən] n. 窒息；闷死 the condition of being deprived of oxygen

imperative [ɪmˋpɛrətɪv] adj. 必要的；紧急的；极重要的 extremely urgent or important; essential

wrath [ræθ] n.【正式】愤怒﹐狂怒 angry, violent, or stern indignation

Sentence of the Day

Many people are still upset with Exxon because they feel the company dragged its heels when it came to helping fix the damage it caused.

很多人还是对凡德森漏油事件很生气，因为他们认为这家公司拖延不处理他们所造成的损害。

drag one’s heels  故意拖沓或怠工

课文讲解

Tiffany and her boyfriend James are reading the daily newspapers while relaxing at a local café:  蒂芬妮和她的男朋友詹姆士在当地的一家咖啡馆休息，阅读当日的新闻报纸：

J: Oh no, look at this. Another oil spill in the news! Check out these photos.

喔！不会吧，你看这个，又有一则油轮漏油的新闻了。你看这些照片。

T: Look at those poor oil-covered birds. With oil soaking their feathers, they lose all their insulation and can freeze to death.

看看那些被油覆盖的可怜鸟儿。油污浸渍了牠们的羽毛，牠们会失去所有的保护层而冻死。

J: How can they clean up such a mess?

他们如何清理善后这个烂摊子？

T: Well, today most governments take oil spills pretty seriously and have prevention plans in place. But in case a spill happens, contingency plans have been prepared, and there’s an array of technology to fight it.

今日多数的政府都很慎重看待油轮漏油事件，同时也都有适当的预防措施。但假使漏油事件真的发生了，他们也备妥应变计划及一套应对的办法来解决这个问题。

J: It says in the article that they are using giant floating booms to contain the spill, in addition to skimmer boats that collect oil from the water’s surface.

这篇文章说到除了开浮艇去捞取水面上的油层之外，他们也用巨大的拦油索去截堵漏油的扩散。

T: Right. During the Exxon Valdez spill, they relied on in situ burning to burn the oil right off the water. They even tried to use giant sponges called sorbents to soak up the stuff.

对呀，凡德森漏油事件发生时，他们以现场火烧的方式燃烧掉漂浮在水面上的油层，甚至试着用巨大的海绵去吸取油渍。

J: I guess oil spills are just a necessary evil of our energy-hungry world.

我想漏油事件是我们这个视资源若渴的世界中无法避免的灾害。

T: Yeah, it may be black gold to some people, but I’m sure those birds feel differently.

对呀，对某些人来说油或许是「黑金」，但我可以确定对那些鸟儿来说就不是这么一回事了。

J: Well, I have my own cup of black gold right here. Pass the sugar, please.

嗯，我这里就有一杯属于我自己的黑金。请把糖递给我吧。

－by Darshan Tyler

Vocabulary

单词发音

insulation [͵ɪnsəˋleʃən] n. 绝缘（体）

in place 准备就绪; 适当的 in the appropriate or usual position or order

contingency [kənˋtɪndʒənsɪ] n. 意外事故；偶然事件 an event that may occur but that is not likely or intended; a possibility

floating boom  浮栅；浮栏

boom [bum] n. 浮木挡栅，水栅（用来阻挡溢出的油扩散

skimmer [ˋskɪmɚ] n. 撇取浮物的器具

in situ【拉】在原处；在原位置 in the original position.

sorbent [ˋsɔrbənt] n. 有吸收作用之物; 吸附剂；吸着剂

a necessary evil 不可避免的恶事[弊害]  something that you do not like but which you know must exist or happen

Sentence of the Day

The world really needs to clean up its act when it comes to the environment.

谈到环境，人类真的需要改善自己的行为了。

clean up one’s act  改变生活方式；改头换面，重新做人