VOA标准英语2010年-Stakes Are High Along the Louisiana Co
时间:2019-02-03 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2010年(五)月
As efforts to try to cap the oil well that has poured millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf 1 of Mexico faltered 2 Saturday, we took a tour of the vast ecosystem 3 along Louisiana coast for a first hand look at what is at stake. The Louisiana coastline is a complex network of rivers, bays, marsh 4 and bayou that sustains abundant and diverse plant and animal life.
Several miles off the Eastern Louisiana coast these barrier islands are all that stand between treasured wetland habitats and the giant oil slick adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.
The nesting grounds for pelicans 5, gulls 6 and other water foul 7, they rise less than 30 centimeters above sea level. Matt Rota, an environmentalist with The Gulf Restoration Network says if the oil makes landfall here, it will spell trouble for the entire coast. "Well the Louisiana wetlands are just an amazing ecosystem. They are very productive, have lots of different critters, and they all depend on each other," he said.
To learn what is at stake, we chartered a boat to take us into the wetlands East of the Mississippi River. Our guide, P.J. Blaize has been fishing these waters since he was a young boy. As we cross the river, he takes us through a lock he says has been closed since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "From what I am hearing, the governor general gave the order to open up the locks to push the fresh water out. That is one of our allies is the fresh water holding the oil out in the open water as opposed to coming into the isle 8 marshes 9 and stuff," he said.
Heavy rains and flooding in states up river in the past week, are exerting enormous pressure downstream. Officials want to use that pressure to flush fresh water out into the Gulf of Mexico to keep the oil offshore 10.
"You see the river is a tree line, and all this is basically fresh-water marsh," said Blaize.
Just on the other side of the lock are natural waterways that wind through freshwater marsh.
The marsh is home to a vast array of plants, fish, reptiles 11 like the North American Alligator 12, and mammals. "We have a variety of species. We have mink 13, we have nutria, we have muskrat 14, coyote, dear, wild pig," said Blaize.
Matt Rota says if oil made its way into the marsh, a lot of the plant and animal life would not survive. "Well, if the oil did get into the interior of the wetlands it could be very devastating 15. You could have oil getting on the plants, which could cause them, at the very least, to be stressed if not die. And then you have issues such as birds and mammals coated with oil," he said.
Further east we reach brackish 16 water. It is here the rich oyster 17 and crab 18 fishing grounds are found. We stop at the mouth of an inlet where an oil boom should have been set. But could find none. "Over time oil does dissipate and can get broken down from bacteria and other organisms in the water, but still they are putting certain dispersants on the oil that makes it sink down to the bottom," he said.
The fear is that the oil would taint 19 the bottom dwelling 20 shellfish for decades. "It could be taken up by crustaceans 21 like shrimp 22 crabs 23, things like that which are the base of the food chain and that could be passed up to fish and then mammals and the toxins 24 could be concentrated and that could be harmful to animals that feed on these smaller organisms," he said.
Farther out, we reach the bird nesting grounds on the barrier islands. Off in the distance, reminders 25 of how prominent the oil industry is here. In the past oil and ecology have struck a delicate balance in Louisiana, but as the massive slick drifts closer to the coast that could be coming to an end.
- 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。
- He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
- "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
- 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。
- There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
- I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。
- Kurt watched the Pelicans fire their jets and scorch the grass. 库尔特看着鹈鹕运兵船点火,它们的喷焰把草烧焦。 来自互联网
- The Pelican Feeding Officers present an educational talk while feeding the pelicans. 那个正在喂鹈鹕的工作人员会边喂鹈鹕边给它上一节教育课。 来自互联网
- A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句
- Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
- What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
- He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
- The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。
- Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
- We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
- Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。
- She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
- He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场,五年之内就赚了不少钱。
- Muskrat fur almost equals beaver fur in quality.麝鼠皮在质量上几乎和海獭皮不相上下。
- I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice.我看到一只麝鼠从冰里面钻出来。
- 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。
- Brackish waters generally support only a small range of faunas.咸水水域通常只能存活为数不多的几种动物。
- The factory has several shallow pools of brackish water.工厂有几个浅的咸水池。
- I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
- I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
- I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
- The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了,就象螃蟹的壳似的。
- Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
- Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。
- Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
- He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
- These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时,它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句
- When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来,将会截断这条河流。
- When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜,我最喜欢虾。
- As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
- Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》