Oceans of Oil | 墨西哥湾漏油引发生态浩劫

by Matthew Brown

漏油事件如何危害附近的海洋、陆地和动植物？

Some are calling it the worst oil spill in history. On April 20 of this year, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig run by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a fiery blast that left 11 workers dead. _(1)_ The explosion unleashed an oil gusher from a well at the bottom of the ocean. Since then, millions upon millions of barrels of oil from the gusher have poured into the Gulf. _(2)_

Now pictures of oil-covered birds and dead fish can be seen on many news websites. But what are the specific effects of such a disaster? When oil spills out into the ocean, it can spread out on the surface of the water at an alarming speed. In turn, the oil may stick together in what is called a slick, or it may break up. _(3)_ Eventually, the oil will decompose and disintegrate, but by that time, the damage will have already been done.

The BP disaster has already created dead zones. _(4)_ The mousse-oil, which sticks to anything it touches, has been drowning birds and other sea creatures. Many animals, including some endangered species, are dying from ingesting the oil. _(5)_

It's hard to say how long an oil spill like this one will affect the ocean and its shores. One small advantage of this disaster may be that it will hopefully force us to change the way we depend on oil and to seek new, cleaner sources of energy.

(A) In these lifeless areas, oxygen has been sucked out of the water, leaving it unsuitable for anything in the ocean.

(B) Most of the oil will combine with water to form a thick layer that looks like mousse and lumps of sticky tar.

(C) Unfortunately, no way to seal the well has been found, so the gusher continues to pump out massive amounts of oil.

(D) The damage goes all the way down to plants and algae that are killed or contaminated with toxins.

(E) However, that wasn't the end of the disaster.

有些人称这是史上最严重的漏油事件。今年 4 月 20 日，英国石油公司在墨西哥湾的『深海地平线号』钻油平台发生爆炸。爆炸引发大火燃烧，造成 11名员工死亡。然而，灾难还未结束。爆炸造成海底油井漏油。从那时起，无数桶的石油从喷油井外漏进墨西哥湾。不幸的是，尚未找出任何封堵油井的方法，因此喷油井持续喷出大量石油。

　　现在许多新闻网站上都可以看见全身沾满石油的鸟类和死鱼的照片。但这样的灾难到底会造成什么具体的影响？石油外漏时，会以惊人的速度扩散到海面。接着，石油会聚集在一起形成一大片所谓的浮油，或是分散开来。大部分的石油会和海水结合，形成一层厚厚的、看起来像慕斯和黏稠沥青般的块状物。最后，石油会分解而瓦解，不过等到那时候，灾害就已经造成了。

BP 漏油灾害已经造成了死亡区域。在这些了无生机的区域里，水中的氧气被抽出，使得该区变得不适合任何海洋生物生存。而慕斯状的石油会黏住所有碰到的物体，造成鸟类和其他海洋生物溺毙。包含一些濒临绝种的物种在内，许多动物都因为喝到石油而死亡。这些破坏最后也会影响到植物和藻类，因为它们会因毒素而死亡或受到污染。

　　我们很难估计像这样的漏油事件对海洋及其沿岸所造成的影响时间会有多长。这场灾难唯一可取之处，在于这可能会促使我们改变对石油的依赖，进而找出更干净的新能源。

答案：  1. (E)2. (C)3. (B)4. (A)5. (D)

For Your Information

因墨西哥湾漏油事件饱受各方指责的英国石油公司（BP），向数家搜索引擎公司买下 oil spill（漏油）的关键词。网友输入该字汇时，将出现英国石油公司的网页，导引网友至该公司官网，以解释他们在抢救漏油所作的努力。

而 BP 在历经近 3个月的漏油灾难后，终于在 7 月 15 日宣布，新的控油罩阀（capping stack）发挥功效，暂时已无原油从油井漏出。英国石油公司期盼这次不会再出包，能够完全遏止漏油。（数据源：联合新闻网、中广新闻、中时电子报）