VOA慢速英语:Remembering the Gulf Oil Spill, One Year Later

短语讲解：

1. Officials estimate that nearly five million barrels of oil poured into the Gulf.

pour into不断地〔大量地〕流进〔涌进〕
例句：The crowd suddenly poured into the store.
人群突然涌进商店。

2. Natural micro-organisms in the water helped eat the oil and clean up the spill.

clean up 清理，打扫
例句：You should always clean up after a picnic .
野餐后你们总应该清扫一下。

3. Workers also used chemical dispersants to break up the oil.

break up 分解，破碎
例句：Falling raindrops break up through hydrodynamic effects. 
下落雨滴由于流体动力作用而破碎。

4. A lot of it is washed up into the wetlands.

wash up 将…冲上来
例句：Last night's tide washed up some quite beautiful shells.
昨晚的潮水冲上来一些非常漂亮的贝壳。

5. But she says the recovery of the Gulf is far from complete.

far from 远离，远非
例句：His work is far from perfect.
他的工作远非十全十美。

6. We are looking at things we’ve probably never looked at before as the result of an oil spill.

as the result of 作为…的结果，由于
例句：He was injured as the result of a boiler explosion. 
他因锅炉爆炸而受伤。

7. In December the federal government announced civil action against BP, Transocean and other companies connected to the spill.

connect to 使与…连接
例句：The island is connected by a steamer service to the mainland.
轮船航运把该岛与大陆联系起来。

8. Oil and gas companies say new rules prevent them from moving quickly to increase production.

prevent from 阻止，防止
例句：My only idea was to prevent the woman from speaking.
我唯一的想法就是不让那女人讲话。

9. President Obama says crews have made progress in cleaning up the spill, but the job is not done.

made progress 进步，前进
例句：We must innovate in order to make progress.
我们必须改革以便取得进步。