VOA标准英语2010年-Obama: Cap On Gulf Oil Spill 'Good New

U.S. President Barack Obama is cautiously optimistic, now that an experimental cap has stopped oil from gushing¹ from BP's ruptured² well in the Gulf³ of Mexico.  President says the cap is a temporary solution.

President Obama says one way or another, the cap is a step in the right direction.

"The new cap is good news," said President Obama. "Either we will be able to use it to stop the flow, or we will be able to use it to capture almost all of the oil until the relief well is done.  But we are not going to know for certain which approach makes sense until additional data is in."

The president told reporters Friday the cap and other devices are expected to capture as much as 80,000 barrels of oil a day, until a relief well is completed.

Crisis not over

He said despite the encouraging developments, the crisis is not over.

"Well, I think it is important that we do not get ahead of ourselves here," said Mr. Obama. "One of the problems with having this camera down there is that when the oil stops gushing, everybody feels like we are done, and we are not."

Mr. Obama said government and private experts met overnight to look at information from the well.  He said they want to make sure that the new cap is not causing the oil to escape elsewhere.

BP stopped the oil from billowing into the Gulf on Thursday, for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, killing⁴ 11 workers.

Work continues

The president said Friday work continues on relief wells, which would plug the broken well permanently⁵.

"So far, it is actually slightly ahead of target," he said. "But the problem on the relief well is not simply drilling all the way down, it is also connecting it up, and that is a delicate operation that could take some time."

Mr. Obama said even when the well is permanently capped, much more work lies ahead to help the Gulf region's economy recover from the disaster.

"We have got an enormous amount of work to do, and people down in the Gulf, particularly businesses, are still suffering as a consequence of this disaster," said President Obama. "But we are making steady progress, and I think the American people should take some heart in the fact that we are making progress on this front."

Travel to Gulf region

The president said he expects to make another trip to the Gulf region in the next several weeks.

He spoke⁶ just before leaving for a family vacation in the Northeastern state of Maine.  Republicans and other critics have blasted Mr. Obama for occasionally taking vacations and playing golf during the crisis.  He said Friday he is in constant communication with those coordinating⁷ the repair efforts.
 

1 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白