VOA标准英语2010年-BP Well Capped, Gulf Oil Cleanup Conti

The Macondo well operated by BP in the Gulf¹ of Mexico has now been capped with a star adornment² that commemorates³ the 11 people killed when the rig operating on the water surface above the site exploded on April 20. Clean-up efforts continue, though, all along the Gulf coast from Florida to Louisiana.
Speaking to reporters in a conference call, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft said workers had installed the cap on 8 Nov and completed testing to make sure the well is completely plugged. On top, he said, is a corrosion⁴ cap featuring an 11-point star, with each point representing a worker killed in the blast that led to the largest oil spill in history.
Zukunft said there is evidence of oiling along 939 kilometers of coastline, but he described most of it as light, with only around 41 kilometers being heavily oiled. He said more than 9,000 people are still engaged in clean-up operations with a special emphasis on restoring marshlands and beaches.
"Some of our more persistent⁵ oil is in that sand column on both recreational beaches and also on national park shorelines," said Zukunft. "In some cases it is either removed manually or we are using heavy equipment." The Coast Guard rear admiral said the response team he leads is making a special effort to clean beaches that are frequented by tourists before the spring season begins in about five months. He said the effort to restore the shoreline involves state and local officials, as well as various federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁶ Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which was the agency that capped the well.
Zukunft said determining when to finalize⁷ operations in any given area involves discussions with all interested parties. "We sit down with a number of trustees, it could be land owners, National Park Service, NOAA and others, when we reach a point where any further clean up provides no net environmental benefit. At that point we terminate that phase of the response. So that will really be the indicator⁸ of when we are done."Zukunft said around 12 vessels⁹ remain at the site of the well disaster, including the Discoverer Enterprise drill ship and two others owned by the Transocean oil services company that owned the rig destroyed in the accident. The ships will move back to shore after being decontaminated. Other ships on site are involved in retrieving¹⁰ spill response equipment that remains¹¹ on the seabed near the site. Experts differ as to how much long-term damage was done to the Gulf region's ecology by the spill and the dispersant chemicals used to keep heavy oil slicks from reaching shore. Some scientists say oil in the water could affect fish embryos¹² and other sensitive aquatic¹³ life for months or even years to come. But other scientists cite studies done after the 1979 Ixtoc-1 spill in Mexico's Gulf of Campeche that showed little effect from the oil or dispersants in the years that followed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says only eight percent of the oil from the BP well disaster was treated with dispersants.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

3 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 corrosion   

n.腐蚀，侵蚀；渐渐毁坏，渐衰

参考例句：

• Corrosion is not covered by the warranty.腐蚀不在保修范围之内。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

5 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

8 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 retrieving   

n.检索（过程），取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Ignoring all, he searches the ground carefully for any cigarette-end worth retrieving. 没管打锣的说了什么，他留神的在地上找，看有没有值得拾起来的烟头儿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Retrieving the nodules from these great depths is no easy task. 从这样的海底深渊中取回结核可不是容易的事情。 来自辞典例句

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

13 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。