VOA标准英语2011--Farm Products Contaminated Near Japanese

Japan has confirmed radiation contamination of some agricultural products near a nuclear power plant crippled by last week's earthquake and tsunami¹ that is still spewing radiation.
In what is likely to deal a heavy blow to agriculture in the Tohoku region, hard hit by the huge quake and tsunami, the Japanese government is confirming the first reports of radioactive contamination to farm products near a nuclear power plant.
Yukio Edano, the chief Cabinet secretary, says high levels of radiation have been detected in milk in Fukushima prefecture and spinach² from Ibaraki prefecture have been found to be contaminated. He tells reporters there is no immediate³ health risk and the government is considering regulating shipments of farm products from the affected⁴ area.
At the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant efforts continue to try to cool overheating reactor⁵ cores and water in tanks containing spent fuel rods.
Tokyo Electric Power Company officials say they hope to switch back on pumps Sunday that would automatically begin cooling the radioactive materials. Japan's nuclear safety agency says electrical lines have now been restored to two of the reactors⁶.
In the meantime, firemen using high-powered hoses on fire trucks, have been shuttling in and out of the plant to spray water directly on reactor elements. They are attempting to prevent a further deterioration⁷ of the situation, which could lead to a renewed nuclear chain reaction.
That would disperse⁸ significantly higher levels of radiation into the atmosphere.
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Japanese officials say some progress is being made in their mission to stop radiation leaks, but warn the crisis is still far from resolved.
The officials say fire trucks have been able to focus a near constant stream of water on overheated reactors and nuclear fuel, helping⁹ to stabilize¹⁰ the situation. However, they acknowledge the gains could be temporary
The Fukushima Prefectural Government tells VOA News that for the second day in a row the highest radiation level it registered outside the plant was in the village of Iitate, 40 kilometers northwest of the nuclear facility. The reading there, very slightly elevated from Friday, was 21.80 micro-sieverts per hour at 6 p.m. Saturday. Assuming these levels are staying consistent throughout the day, that means residents there are receiving about the equivalent of a plain film chest X-ray every hour.
Japan's government has imposed a 20-kilometer evacuation zone around the crippled plant. Those living between 20 and 30 kilometers away are supposed to remain indoors and keep their windows shut.
More than 200,000 people living near the 40-year-old nuclear powered generating facility have left their homes, with most of them moving into makeshift shelters farther away from the plant.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 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。

5 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

7 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

8 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

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 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。