U.S. President Barack Obama says he will bring to justice those responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, the price of BP shares dropped sharply in early trading on Tuesday. The president is promising to change laws and procedures to prevent similar disasters in the future.
美国总统奥巴马说，他要让那些对墨西哥湾漏油事件负有责任的人受到法律制裁。与此同时，英国石油公司的股价在星期二的早盘交易中大幅下跌。奥巴马总统承诺将修改法律和程序，以防今后再发生类似的灾难事故。
President Obama said that changes will be made, after a commission he appointed to investigate the oil leak held its first meeting.
奥巴马总统表示将会做出改变。此前，他委任的负责调查漏油事件的一个委员会举行了第一次会议。
The president spoke to reporters in the White House Rose Garden after talking with former Florida Governor Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly, who lead the panel.
奥巴马总统在白宫玫瑰园对记者发表了讲话。此前，他与委员会负责人、佛罗里达州前州长格雷厄姆和环境保护署前署长赖利举行了会谈。
"Their job, along with the other members of the commission, will be to thoroughly examine the spill and its causes, so that we never face such a catastrophe again," said President Obama.
奥巴马说：“他们的工作，以及委员会其他成员的工作将是彻底调查这次漏油事件及其原因，使我们永远不会再遭遇这样一个灾难。”
Oil continues to gush into the Gulf, six weeks after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that BP leased exploded, killing 11 people. Several attempts to stop the flow of oil have been unsuccessful.
六个星期前，英国石油公司租赁的“深水地平线”石油钻井平台发生爆炸，导致11人死亡。目前石油还在继续流入墨西哥湾。几次试图阻止漏油的努力均告失败。
The government estimates that between 76 million and 167 million liters of crude have poured into the waters off the state of Louisiana.
据美国政府估算，共有7600万到1亿6千700万升的原油喷涌到路易斯安那州沿岸的水域。
Mr. Obama said the investigators have his support to follow the facts about the disaster wherever they lead.
奥巴马说，他支持调查人员追寻事故的真相，不管最终将得出什么样的结果。
"If the laws on our books are insufficient to prevent such a spill, the laws must change," President Obama added. "If oversight was inadequate to enforce these laws, oversight has to be reformed. If our laws were broken, leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice on behalf of the victims of this catastrophe and the people of the Gulf [of Mexico] region."
奥巴马说：“如果我们现有的法律不足以防止这样的漏油事故，这样的法律必须进行修改。如果监管机制不足以执行这些法律，这样的监管机制必须进行改革。 如果有人违反我们的法律，导致这样的死亡和灾害事件，我郑重承诺我们要替这次灾难的死难者和墨西哥湾地区的人民，将那些肇事者绳之以法。”
As the president spoke, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was heading to the region to meet with state attorneys general to discuss possible criminal prosecutions relating to the disaster.
在奥巴马总统发表这番讲话的同时，美国司法部长霍尔德正前往这一地区，与州检查长举行会议，讨论与这起灾难相关的可能的刑事诉讼。
Mr. Obama said he wants his commission to report to him in six months with recommendations on preventing similar spills.
奥巴马说，他希望他的委员会六个月后向他提出防止类似漏油事故的建议。
"We owe all those who have been harmed, as well as future generations, a full and vigorous accounting of the events that led to what has now become the worst oil spill in U.S. history," he said. "Only then can we be assured that deep water drilling can take place safely."
奥巴马说：“我们应该向那些受到伤害的人和我们的后代交出一份有关这次事故的完整而充分的陈述。这次事故目前已经成为美国有史以来的最严重的漏油事件。只有到那时我们才能确信深海钻油可以安全进行。”
The oil company BP is working on two relief wells that are considered to be the best solution to the problem. But they are not expected to be completed until August.
英国石油公司正在建造两个减压井，这被认为是解决这一问题的最佳方法。但是这两个减压井预计要到8月才能建造完毕。
BP says its cost of stopping the leak and cleaning up the damage is approaching $1 billion.
英国石油公司表示，他们用于阻止漏油和清理漏油损害的费用已经接近10亿美元。 |