高级课程» 第7 单元» 第1 课时» 活动中心

 1 Alaskan Oil Spill — Basic Story

An oil tanker became stuck on a reef in Alaska. The rocks in the reef tore a hole in the ship. Lots of oil spilled
out of the hole and into the ocean. This oil began getting on everything.
A person from the oil company said that they are trying to clean it up as fast as they can. They will pay for the
entire clean up.
When the oil pipes were put across Alaska, the pipe builders said that this would not happen. A person who
lives in Alaska said that they were told that they would never see this kind of problem.
A fisherman worried that an oil spill could wipe out his fishing business. The sale of oil brings in much more
money than the fishing business.
The people at the pipeline company thought they were ready for a spill. They had even practiced it with a model
in their office. The problem was that they did not practice with real equipment.
People complained that the clean up was not being done right. The number of workers cleaning up the mess
was cut back. When the ship hit the reef, the first call was for tarps. They should have asked for equipment to
contain the oil.
The ship's captain was fired by his company. A person from the ship company said that they were upset that an
officer put his ship and crew in danger like that.
The oil company could not do much about cleaning it up quickly. In 36 hours, the oil spread for twenty miles.
The oil company could only put out a few thousand feet of boom to contain it. The oil spill could not be
stopped.

 2 Alaska

a state of the United States of America

 3 captain

someone who drives a ship or large boat

 4 contain

to keep something in one area

 5 crew

people who work together on a ship

 6 equipment

tools, supplies or machines

 7 fisherman

a person who catches fish

 8 pipeline

a lot of pipes hooked together

 9 reef

an underwater row of rocks

 10 spilled

fell out of something

 11 tanker

a very large ship that may carry oil or other fuel

课程中心