VOA标准英语2010年-BP's Damaged Gulf Oil Well to Be Seale

Lee Witt (R) and BP PLC CEO of Gulf¹ Coast Restoration Organization Bob Dudley at a news conference to announce Witt's hiring as advisor² to BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill response in Biloxi, Miss., 30 Jul 2010

Both U.S. government and BP officials on Friday said that the so-called static kill of the damaged Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico will likely be done early next week, with the relief well bottom kill following within a couple of weeks. That would permanently³ seal the well and stop any further leaks, but, efforts to deal with polluted coastlines and oil in the water continue.

In his Friday briefing for reporters retired⁴ U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. Incident Commander in the Gulf of Mexico, said debris⁵ had settled at the bottom of the relief well being drilled and that it would take a day or so to remove it. He said, however, this was a minor⁶ problem and that the static kill operation would proceed early next week.

In response to complaints by some local officials in Louisiana and elsewhere in the region that federal operations to skim oil and restore coastal⁷ areas might slacken once the well is killed, Allen said the government commitment to recovery remains⁸ unchanged. He said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁹ Administration maintains several boats in waters around the well site to test the waters for oil and other contaminants.

"We are continuing to test, we are continuing to work with the consortiums of the universities around the Gulf, we are continuing to try to do analysis associated with this. But this is a type of science and biological challenge that the country has not been presented with before and we are trying to make sure we learn as much as we can moving forward," he said.

Scientists working with the government and at universities in the Gulf coast states say most of the oil has now dissipated and that bacteria and fungi¹⁰ in the seawater will eat up much of what remains. Another problem, however, is the dispersant chemical used to break up the oil slick in the early days of the clean-up effort.

Also on Friday, BP's executive in charge of Gulf operations, Bob Dudley, met with reporters in Biloxi, Mississippi to announce a $100 million fund the company is starting to help oil rig workers laid off because of the Obama administration's moratorium¹¹ on deepwater drilling in the Gulf, which was done as a response to the disaster.

Dudley, who takes over as Chief Executive Officer of the oil company in October, also emphasized BP's continuing commitment to compensating¹² Gulf coast residents harmed by the spill. "We need to get this moving as fast as we can. We have written about 80,000 checks, more than $250 million. I realize it is not perfect, there is more to go," he said.

In an effort to improve BP's response, Dudley announced that James Lee Witt,  former director of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Bill Clinton, is now helping¹³ the company.  Dudley said that once the well is killed operations on the water will be scaled back, but he said that does not mean that the company will in any way lessen¹⁴ its commitment to restoring areas damaged by the oil leak.
 

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 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 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。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 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。

9 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。

10 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

11 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

12 compensating   

补偿，补助，修正

参考例句：

• I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
• It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。

13 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。

14 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。