新西兰英语 387 Pike River Coal Mine will be closed

　　The police said today that the Pike River Coal Mine will be closed and sealed – perhaps forever – and the bodies of the 29 miners will never be recovered. This is bad news for the families of those men.
The reason for closing the mine is that it is too difficult to make it safe. The fire that is still burning in the mine and the high level of methane¹ gas mean that no one can enter. The mine company has been using a machine from Australia to pump carbon dioxide and then nitrogen into the mine. They hoped this would take a few hours but after 35 days, the mine is still not safe. The machine has to go back to Australia. The police and the Prime Minister said that money was not the reason for stopping the work.
Because this mine is now in receivership owing money to creditors², the receivers – Price Waterhouse – will now decide what happens to the mine. The coal is valuable. It is worth millions of dollars. The creditors want their money back but it now seems that it impossible to operate this mine safely. Listen to Dec 16th 2010 for more about these money problems.
Meanwhile, 50 miners from the West Coast have got mining jobs in various parts of Australia.
Question
The Police Commissioner³ said that it is now time to focus on the living and to respect and remember the men who are dead. Do you agree?

1 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

2 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。