2007年VOA标准英语-Utah Mine Collapse Puts Spotlight on Coal Minin

By Mil Arcega
Washington
10 August 2007
 

Rescue efforts continue for six men trapped in a coal mine in the U.S. western state of Utah.   Although the fate of the miners is still unknown, the unfolding tragedy is putting a spotlight¹ on America's reliance on coal. VOA's Mil Arcega reports.    

Coal is an essential source of energy for the United States

Few industries are as essential to the American way of life as coal mining. 

Jeff Goodell, author of the book "Big Coal," says last year, miners pulled 1.1 billion tons of coal from the ground. "The two things that are really influencing this are the rise of natural gas prices and the political push for energy independence."

Coal is the number one source of energy in the United States, powering most electrical appliances -- from portable music players to refrigerators. In fact, 50 percent of U.S. electricity comes from coal -- nearly 20 pounds each day for every American.

Carol Raulston is with the National Mining Association. "Coal's tremendous abundance in this country is a real advantage, but it's quite frankly² because other sources of electricity are much more expensive," she said.

This is not the coal industry of 100 years ago.  Today, large drills scour³ for bigger deposits -- much of it from open pit mines. And yet the number of miners continues to grow.  Today, the industry employs about 80,000 miners in what some say are dangerous and dirty conditions.

The Sago mine disaster in the U.S. state of West Virginia last year claimed the lives of 12 miners and led to criticism about the lack of government oversight⁴. 

But industry analyst⁵ Ellen Smith says government enforcement is getting tougher. "It doesn't look the other way.  And I'm not saying that it ever did.  But it certainly has more teeth than it has in the past couple of years."

Coal's biggest critics are environmentalists, who see coal as a dirty energy source.  Despite some progress in reducing pollutants⁶, author Goodell says coal is primarily carbon, and many consider it the chief cause of global warming. "Clean coal is something like 'fat-free' donuts,” he says. “It's something that we would sort of all like to believe in and sounds good but in fact is just a kind of advertising⁷ slogan."

Like it or not, coal is here to stay. Industry experts say eliminating America's largest energy source altogether would more than quadruple electricity rates in the United States.

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 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

3 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。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。