VOA标准英语2010年-President Obama Promises Changes to Pr

 

President Barack Obama, accompanied by BP Oil Spill Commission co-chairs, former Florida Sen. Bob Graham, and former EPA Administrator¹ William Reilly, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, 1 Jun 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama says he will bring to justice those responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf² of Mexico.  Meanwhile, the price of BP shares dropped sharply in early trading on Tuesday.  The president is promising³ to change laws and procedures to prevent similar disasters in the future.

 

President Obama said that changes will be made, after a commission he appointed to investigate the oil leak held its first meeting.

The president spoke⁴ to reporters in the White House Rose Garden after talking with former Florida Governor Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly, who lead the panel.

"Their job, along with the other members of the commission, will be to thoroughly⁵ examine the spill and its causes, so that we never face such a catastrophe⁶ again," said President Obama.

Image made from video released by British Petroleum⁷ (BP PLC) shows robot submarines using circular saw-like device to cut a pipe at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, 01 Jun 2010

Oil continues to gush⁸ into the Gulf, six weeks after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that BP leased exploded, killing⁹ 11 people.  Several attempts to stop the flow of oil have been unsuccessful.

The government estimates that between 76 million and 167 million liters of crude have poured into the waters off the state of Louisiana.

Mr. Obama said the investigators¹⁰ have his support to follow the facts about the disaster wherever they lead.

"If the laws on our books are insufficient¹¹ to prevent such a spill, the laws must change," President Obama added.  "If oversight¹² was inadequate¹³ to enforce these laws, oversight has to be reformed.  If our laws were broken, leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice on behalf of the victims of this catastrophe and the people of the Gulf [of Mexico] region."

As the president spoke, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁴ was heading to the region to meet with state attorneys general to discuss possible criminal prosecutions¹⁵ relating to the disaster.

Mr. Obama said he wants his commission to report to him in six months with recommendations on preventing similar spills.

"We owe all those who have been harmed, as well as future generations, a full and vigorous accounting¹⁶ of the events that led to what has now become the worst oil spill in U.S. history," he said.  "Only then can we be assured that deep water drilling can take place safely."

The oil company BP is working on two relief wells that are considered to be the best solution to the problem.  But they are not expected to be completed until August.

BP says its cost of stopping the leak and cleaning up the damage is approaching $1 billion.
 

1 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

2 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。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

8 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

12 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

13 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

14 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

15 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。