PBS高端访谈:治水紧急措施

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: We're joined now by the mayor of Charleston, W.Va., Danny Jones.

　　Thanks for joining us.

　　What is the latest that you're hearing now about the efforts to contain this spill?

　　DANNY JONES,Mayor of Charleston, W.Va.: Well, we know basically what we were told at the press conference this morning.

　　And we are at the mercy of the principals involved, mainly West Virginia American Water Company, because they are probably going to be decides when they feel like it's safe for people to bathe and to drink the water.

　　And you can't imagine what it's like to live in one of the nine counties affected¹ in West Virginia, or in my home town of Charleston, W.Va., which is the urban part of that area, what it's like to not have any water to do anything except for flush commodes and put out fires.

　　MORE: Up to 300,000 West Virginians without water after chemical spillHARI SREENIVASAN: Sorry.

　　The governor says that he doesn't know the details. The company in some ways hasn't said exactly how much has spilled out into the river. When do they have any expectation of when they will know more?

　　DANNY JONES: And that was my question this morning at the press conference.

　　And there is no timeline. There is no answer as to when the citizens of this valley and all these nine counties can affect this nightmare to end. And it has devastated² this area in a way which is indescribable. Everything is closing.

　　And that means the Marriott Hotel. That means our Town Center Mall. No restaurant is allowed to open because you can't legally open without water. And it's been devastating³ for our area. People are in their homes. The schools are closed. You're not supposed to take showers and certainly not supposed to drink the tap water.

　　And we are distributing water out of a few of our fire stations, bottled water. And the West Virginia American Water has had truckloads of water to come in to try to distribute water to citizens, so they will have something to drink.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Now, we heard that there's almost a smell of black licorice either in the air or of the water. Have you smelled it? Have you tasted it?

　　DANNY JONES: I smelled it yesterday, when a gentleman from the office across the street came over to my office to get me. He knew me, and he took me across the street and I smelled it when I got outside. I had been inside for that afternoon.

　　And then he -- I went up to his water fountain and then I tasted it. And I took a big drink of it, and I knew that there was something very wrong. And it wasn't much longer after that that the West Virginia Water Company and the governor and all those folks held a press conference. It wasn't the governor's press conference.

　　He was just happened to have been there, but was West Virginia American Water Company. And they have nothing but bad news for these citizens, and with no end in sight.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: So have you heard of any of the possible health side effects? Are there clinics or hospitals reporting any adverse⁴ affects to people having drank this water?

　　DANNY JONES: No, we have not heard anything like that, and -- which is good news. But it also means we really don't know what we're dealing⁵ with.

　　If there are outbreaks of any kind of reaction to this, I have not been informed of it. And I think, if it had happened in Charleston, I think I would have been informed of it. We're just told what not to do.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: So, what are the contingency⁶ plans going forward?

　　I mean, now you know that you have this corporate⁷ citizen in your backyard. What kind of plans were there? What kind of plans do you hope there are if something like this ever happens again?

　　DANNY JONES: If you're talking about the chemical company, that company is not in the city of Charleston. They are about a quarter-mile down the Elk⁸ River, which is outside of our city limits.

　　We believe that they have three tanks up there. One of them leaked. And the chemical went through the -- leaked through the wall and out into the Elk River. We believe that is what happened. So I think that any chance of that happening again would be nil⁹ because of precautions that will be taken.

　　But that doesn't help us out of the mess that we're in right now and all the questions about technicalities and about why weren't we notified when, I will be glad to try to answer that. But that doesn't -- we are preoccupied¹⁰ with getting back to normal lifestyle with water to bathe in and tap water to drink and to prepare food with.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: What do you want the -- what do you want the company to be able to do in the next day or two?

　　DANNY JONES: I want West Virginia American Water to fix this. And I realize it's the chemical company's fault.

　　But West Virginia Water, West Virginian American Water has 40,000 miles of line that they run water through. And that -- that goes out to a lot of people. And we want them to take advantage of whatever technology is out there and fix this.

　　And I believe that it must exist in this day and age that they can fix this and allow these people to get back to normal.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Mayor Danny Jones of Charleston, W.Va., thanks so much for your time.

　　DANNY JONES: Thank you.

1 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。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

9 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

10 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》