VOA慢速英语2020 法国向毛里求斯部署设备以帮助控制漏油

France has sent equipment to Mauritius to help contain an oil spill from a Japanese ship.

France's defense¹ ministry² said a French military plane transported pollution control equipment. A navy boat supplied additional material from the nearby French island of Reunion.

An estimated one thousand metric tons of oil escaped into the sea before the leak was stopped. However, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth warned that the badly damaged ship still holds about 2000 metric tons of oil.

"It is clear that at some point the ship will fall apart," he said Monday night in a televised speech.

The ship crashed into a reef off the island's southeast coast two weeks ago, becoming trapped. The accident happened near the popular Blue Bay Marine³ Park, known for its rich sea life and clear blue waters.

The ship is owned by Japan's Nagashiki Shipping⁴ company.

Jugnauth declared a state of emergency Friday and appealed for international help.

Thousands of students, environmental activists⁵ and citizens have joined efforts to reduce damage from the spill.

Sunil Dowarkasing is an environmental expert and former member of parliament. "This is no longer a threat to our environment, it is a full-blown ecological⁶ disaster that has affected⁷ one of the most environmentally important parts of Mauritius," he said.

Dowarkasing was speaking about the Mahebourg Lagoon⁸, a protected area established several years ago.

Satellite images showed the dark spill spreading in waters near wetlands the government called "very sensitive." Wildlife workers and volunteers gathered baby tortoises and rare plants from an island near the spill and took them to the mainland.

Some people made equipment to help contain the oil. The handmade floats include materials know to absorb oil, like cloth, leaves and even human hair. Dowarkasing said the floats were helping⁹ to slow the oil spread in many areas.

Continuous wind and waves have spread the fuel across the eastern side of the island, Dowarkasing said, adding "We've never seen anything like this in Mauritius."

Local people and environmentalists have questioned why officials did not act more quickly after the ship crashed on July 25. "That's the big question," said Jean Hugues Gardenne of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. "Why that ship has been sitting for so long on that coral reef and nothing being done," he told The Associated Press.

For days, locals watched as a salvage¹⁰ team worked around the tanker¹¹. The country's environment ministry announced this week that oil had begun leaking from a break in the ship.

In Japan, officials from Nagashiki Shipping and the ship's operator, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, apologized Sunday for the spill.

At their first news conference since the crash, the officials said they had sent experts to Mauritius to join the cleanup effort. The companies promised to act in an environmentally responsible way and said they did not plan to use harmful chemicals in the cleanup operations.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

reef – n. a line of rocks or sand at or near the surface of the sea

ecological – adj. relating to the relationships between a group of living things and their environment

coral – n. a hard, usually pink or white substance produced by a type of a very small sea animal

salvage – n. the activity of saving things from being damaged or lost

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

7 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。

8 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

9 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。

10 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

11 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。