VOA标准英语2010年-US Oil Spill Stokes Fear in Florida

Opposition¹ to offshore² drilling grows even though oil slick is still far from Florida

Brian Wagner | Key Largo³, Florida 14 May 2010

The gulf⁴ oil spill is still hundreds of kilometers from Florida, but local businesses worry about the impact it could have on their livelihoods⁵

Florida residents fear the oil residue⁶ and tar⁷ balls that are washing up on beaches of the northern U.S. gulf could soon reach their shores.

The spill from the offshore oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is still hundreds of kilometers from Florida, but local businesses worry about the impact it could have on their livelihoods.

"We're going to have to deal with the pollution that gets here," says Keith Kropf, who lives in Key Largo, south of Miami. "I feel it is going to be here, and it may not be this week or next. But within months."

Kropf and others turned out for a meeting this week with local officials and a representative from BP America, which owns the leaking well.

The spill is still more than 600 kilometers away. Emergency officials say it is too early to  deploy⁸ clean-up crews. But the impact, especially on hotels and tourism, is already being felt.

"We're getting a tremendous amount of questions," says Andy Newman with the Florida Keys Tourism Council. "We know that people are concerned. They are going to wait to the last moment to make that reservation, to assure themselves they are not being impacted."

Tourism isn't the only industry that's feeling the pinch. The spill is also damaging the drive to open up Florida's coastline to new oil drilling. Critics of offshore drilling have held protests against BP in several U.S. cities. 

In Florida, officials had been debating a proposal to open new waters to offshore oil drilling. Governor Charlie Crist was a supporter, but now he's changed his mind.

Florida's beaches and wildlife are a draw for tourists.

"When you see the devastation⁹ and the enormity of the size of that thing, it's just unbelievable," says Crist. "And it just wouldn't be the right thing to do, not now, no way."

Crist wants to put the issue to Florida voters later this year. A poll released after the spill shows that 35 percent of Floridians support offshore drilling - down from 61 percent two years ago.

The spill may have solidified¹⁰ the opposition. .

"People come to Florida because of our environment, our ecology," says Skye Stanley, who operates a sport fishing business in Key Largo. "Now that we can see what kind of tragedy can happen because of those oil rigs.  Definitely, I think it would be a great time to take a vote."

Beaches, fishing grounds and other wildlife habitats draw millions of tourists each year. Florida residents say any threat to those resources would hurt business as well as the ecosystem¹¹.
 

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。

4 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。

5 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

6 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

7 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

9 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

11 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。