VOA标准英语2010年-Obama to Address Nation on Gulf Oil Di

President Barack Obama and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist walk along Casino Beach on Pensacola Beach, Florida, 15 Jun 2010

President Barack Obama will address the American people from the Oval Office at 0000 GMT.  The president's speech will focus mostly on the government's response to the massive oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico.

 

President Obama will speak after returning from his fourth trip to the Gulf region since the April 20 explosion and fire, which killed 11 workers and ruptured² a deep-sea oil well.

The oil is starting to reach the Gulf beaches in Florida, and Mr. Obama told military personnel at the Naval³ Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, his administration is working hard to contain the damage.

"So, I want the people of this region to know that my administration is going to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to deal with this disaster," said President Obama.

The president also emphasized that the White House will continue to hold the energy company BP responsible for paying the costs of dealing⁴ with the disaster.

Kurt Davies of the Greenpeace talks about what he would like to hear the president in his address:

"And that includes something else, making sure BP pays for the damages that it has caused," he added.

A White House spokesman says the president will talk to the nation about what his administration has done to help clean up the oil, limit the environmental damage and direct BP to stop the leak.  He says Mr. Obama will also discuss efforts to minimize the economic impact on the people of the Gulf region, and to enact⁵ new safety regulations to prevent future disasters.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, top executives of other major oil companies told lawmakers their companies would not have drilled the well the way BP did. 

The leaders of ExxonMobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron⁶, as well as BP America, testified before a House of Representatives committee Tuesday.

The committee chairman, Representative Edward Markey, was among the lawmakers who rejected the argument, saying the other companies' emergency response plans are no better than BP's.

"The Gulf of Mexico response plans for ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips and Shell are virtually identical to BP's, and just as deficient," said Markey.

The president and chairman of BP America, Lamar McKay, again expressed his company's sorrow and regret for the incident, and promised that BP will pay for all damages related to the disaster.

 

1 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。

2 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

4 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。

5 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

6 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。