日本承诺年底关闭福岛核电站

Japan says it will shut down reactors at the Fukushima-1 power plant by the end of the year. The announcement comes despite revelations that a natural disaster in March damaged the nuclear facility worse than earlier believed.

日本表示，将在今年年底关闭福岛核电站的一号核反应堆。在上述计划宣布的同时，有消息披露， 日本三月大地震对核设施的损毁要比早前认为的更为严峻。

Serious troubles continue to beleaguer the operators of the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture that was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami. But Prime Minister Naoto Kan told parliament Monday the damaged reactors will be shut down sometime this year.

福岛县核电站在地震和海啸中遭到破坏，核电站至今仍然面临严峻问题。但是，日本首相菅直人星期一告诉国会，今年晚些时候将关闭被损毁的核电站。

Kan says the timeline for bringing the four damaged reactors into a state of cold shutdown will not be changed. He insists that will happen in six to nine months.

菅直人说，会按照原定时间将四个被损毁的核反应堆冷关闭。他坚定地表示，这项任务在未来6到9个月内会完成。

That timetable is consistent with a plan Tokyo Electric Power Company announced one month ago. But since then it has become apparent that the reactors suffered worse damage than earlier thought. The number one reactor, it is now acknowledged, suffered a meltdown soon after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan.

这个时间表与东京电力公司（TEPCO）一个月前宣布的计划是一致的。但是，自计划公布以后，一个越来越明显的事实是，核反应堆遭受的损失要比先前以为的要严重的多。有关方面承认，3月11号席卷日本东北部的大地震和海啸发生后不久，核电站的一号反应堆被融毁。

Japanese experts say the fuel rods inside the reactor were fully exposed to the air and melted. However, the fuel apparently dropped to the bottom of the containment vessel, preventing it from going into a full meltdown stage.

日本专家说，反应堆内的燃料棒完全与空气接触并融毁。不过，由于燃料棒看起来落到反应堆的底部，避免了完全融毁。

Recent attempts to keep the reactor cool by filling the containment chamber with water have run into difficulty. The power company, known as TEPCO, says thousands of tons of highly radioactive contaminated water have leaked through holes created by melted fuel into the reactor basement.

但是，近来试图通过向反应堆容器注水来降温的努力似乎遇到了困难。东京电力公司说，融毁的燃料棒造成多处穿孔，数千吨含高辐射物质的污染水已经泄漏到底部。

TEPCO is scheduled to release a review of its shutdown plan on Tuesday.

东京电力公司预计星期二公布关闭计划的细节。