This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
这里是VOA慢速英语新闻报道节目。
Five years ago this August, Hurricane Katrina struck. Now, American states along the Gulf of Mexico are fearing a different kind of environmental disaster. Oil is flowing from a damaged well one thousand five hundred meters under the sea.
5年前的8月，卡特里娜飓风来袭。而现在，墨西哥湾沿岸各州正为另一种环境灾难担心。石油正从1500米的海底的一口损坏的油井中涌出。
JANET NAPOLITANO: "This is a spill of national significance."
珍妮特·纳波利塔诺（Janet Napolitano）：“这是一起“全国意义的泄漏”。”
That was Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, announcing a higher level of government action. President Obama on Thursday ordered federal officials to intensify efforts to deal with the huge spill.
国土安全部部长珍妮特·纳波利塔诺的发言，宣布了更高标准的政府行动。奥巴马总统周四下令联邦政府官员加紧努力，以处理这次严重的泄漏。
The Horizon Deepwater [correction: Deepwater Horizon] oil drilling rig exploded and sank last week. Eleven workers are missing. British Petroleum leased the rig, owned by Switzerland-based Transocean.
地平线深水[更正：深水地平线]钻井平台上周发生爆炸后沉没，11名工人失踪。英国石油公司租用了这个属于瑞士跨洋（有限责任公司）的钻井平台。
The president said again Friday that BP is "ultimately responsible" under the law for paying the costs of response and cleanup operations.
（奥巴马）总统周五再次表示，英国石油公司对采取应对措施和清理工作所产生的费用承担全部责任。
BARACK OBAMA: "But we are fully prepared to meet our responsibilities to any and all affected communities."
奥巴马说：“但我们已充分准备好，为任何受影响者尽到我们的职责。”
He said he has ordered a report in thirty days on what, if any, additional safety measures and technologies should be required to prevent future spills.
他称，他已下令（政府）在30天内就应采取的任何附加安全措施或技术提交一份报告，以防止未来再次发生类似泄漏。
Oil reached the coastline late Thursday near the mouth of the Mississippi River in the southern state of Louisiana. The oil could also affect parts of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Texas.
上周四，浮油已抵达位于南部州路易斯安那的密西西比河的河口。浮油可能还将影响阿拉巴马州、佛罗里达州、密西西比州和德克萨斯州的部分地区。
It threatens birds, fish, shrimp and other wildlife. Seafood is a big industry along the gulf. Eric Drury is a shrimper but knows that his business is not the only one threatened.
石油泄漏威胁到鸟、鱼、虾和其它野生动物。海鲜是海湾沿岸的一项重要的产业。Eric Drury是一位捕虾者，但他也知道他的生意不是唯一受到威胁的。
ERIC DRURY: "Everybody's in the same boat. It's going to hurt everything: oyster fisherman, everybody."
Eric Drury：“大家都在同一条船上。这将伤害一切：捕牡蛎的渔民，每个人。”
Workers have been placing long lengths of containment booms around the oil as winds and waves push it toward shore. Cleanup efforts have included controlled burns. And robotic submarines are being used to try to stop the leak -- a process that could take weeks.
工人们在浮油周围放置长长的围油栏，以防止风浪将其推向海岸边。清理措施包括有控制的燃烧（浮油）。使用水底机器人（启动止漏闸门）来停止泄漏 -- 这一过程可能需要数周时间。
What caused the explosion was not known. Also, the damaged well did not stop the flow of oil as it should have.
引起爆炸的原因尚不得而知。此外，损坏的油井也没有停止涌出石油。
At the end of March, President Obama called for the United States to expand its offshore oil and gas exploration. He said his plan would balance the need for energy with the need to protect natural resources. Now the White House says there will be no additional drilling while the spill in the Gulf of Mexico is investigated.
在3月底，奥巴马总统曾呼吁美国扩大其近海石油和天然气的勘探。他说，他的计划将平衡能源需求和自然资源保护。现在，白宫称，在墨西哥海湾泄漏事件调查期间，不会增加新的钻井。
Another issue facing the administration this week was immigration. Federal law makes being in United States illegally a civil offense. But a new state law in Arizona will make it a crime. The law was signed last week and goes into effect in a few months. Police could have to take action if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that someone is in the country illegally.
这个星期政府所面临的另一个问题是移民。联邦法律规定，非法移民美国是民事违法行为。但亚利桑那州的一部新法律将其定为刑事犯罪。该部法律于上周签署并将在数月后生效。警察可以对任何他们有正当理由怀疑是非法移民的人采取行动。
Supporters say the law will help reduce crime by illegal immigrants who cross the border from Mexico into Arizona. Critics say it will support racial discrimination. Some urge economic boycotts of the state.
支持者称，这部法律将有助于减少从墨西哥边境非法进入亚利桑州的非法移民的犯罪活动。批评人士称，这部法律存在种族歧视。有人主张对该州进行经济抵制。
Different groups are moving to fight the new law in court, and the federal government could join them. President Obama calls the Arizona law "misguided" and said Congress needs to pass immigration reform. But in this election year, that does not seem very likely to happen.
各类团体正在行动，准备通过法庭起诉这部新法律，联邦政府可能会加入他们的行列。奥巴马总统称亚利桑那州法律是“举措失当的”，并表示国会需要通过移民改革。但在今年的这个选举年，这似乎不太可能发生。