15.08.

2022, 20:27 环球英语 — 37： The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight 1 . I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Sara DeKoster. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to
understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The town of Cordova was a very profitable 2  fishing port in the state of Alaska in the United 3  States.
Fishermen there made a lot of money. They breathed the ocean air. They loved fishing. They supported their
families by catching 4  some of the best fish in the world. But their lives changed on March 24 1989.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on the Exxon Valdez oil spill 5  in the Prince William Sound.
Voice 1
The Prince William Sound is an area of water on the coast the northwest United States. Many different kinds
of animals live in the sound. The ocean, and the fish that live in it, are an important part of the
area’s economy 6 . But oil is also an important part of Alaska’s economy.
Voice 2
On the night of March 23 1989, the Exxon Valdez, a crude 7  oil tanker 8  ship, left port in Valdez
Alaska. It travelled south through the Prince William Sound. The ship was full of oil. Captain Hazelwood
was leading the ship. He sent a radio message to the Coast Guard. He said that the he was going to turn the
ship in a different direction. He wanted to avoid damage from ice floating in the cold water.
Voice 1
Captain Hazelwood turned the ship to travel a new path. The ship passed by the ice. Before he went to sleep,
the captain told a crew 9  member to turn the ship back in the correct path. But the crew member turned the
ship too quickly. This was not where Captain Hazelwood wanted to go. They were travelling towards
Bligh Reef 10 , a group of rocks under the water.
Voice 2
At four [4] minutes past twelve [12] o-clock on March 24 the ship’s metal body hit Bligh Reef. The rocks of
the reef broke open the side of the ship. The oil inside the ship began to flow out into the ocean. The thick
black oil floated on the surface of the water.
Voice 1
The captain sent a radio message to authorities 11  on land. He told them what had happened. He asked the
authorities to send help. But the spill happened far away from land. There was not an easy way for rescue
and cleaning crews 12  to travel to the ship quickly. Workers could not stop the leaking 13 . They tried to
contain the oil. But they did not succeed. The ship leaked 14  oil into the ocean for two days. More than
forty-one million [41,000,000] gallons 15  of oil spilled into the ocean.
Voice 2
The wind and waves moved the oil to land. The oil covered one thousand nine hundred [1,900] kilometres of
the rocky 16  coast. The oil affected 17  the animals living in the water and on the coast. Birds could not
fly because of the oil on their wings. The oil entered the bodies of fish, and other animals living in the water.
Their bodies could not work correctly. They could not swim, fly, eat or stay warm. The oil harmed large and
small animals. Hundreds of thousands of animals died.
Voice 1
The Exxon Company had to clean the spill. But they received help from the military 18  and people who
lived in the area. Many teams of people worked to clean the coast and the surviving animals. The teams used
different methods to clean up the oil. In some areas they burned oil floating on the water. Other crews used
machines to gather the oil. But the oil and plants in the water damaged the machines. Some crews used
chemicals to break down the oil. But the waves were not large enough to mix the chemical with the oil.
Voice 2
Other teams used hot water at a high pressure to move the oil off the rocks back into the water. Workers
would then collect the oil from the surface of the water. Some people even cleaned the oil-covered rocks
by rubbing 19  them with cloth. The oil travelled down the coast for more than a month. It took a very long
time to clean the oil from the coast. Workers would clean an area, but then the ocean current 20  would
change. Oil would cover the clean areas again.
Voice 1
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15.08.2022, 20:27 环球英语 — 37： The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

It took four summers for Exxon to clean the oil from the spill. But even today, you can find oil under rocks in
some areas. The state of Alaska ordered the Exxon company to pay six million [6,000,000] dollars as
punishment for the accident. But the company appealed the fine. Every time a court made a decision, they
appealed. Exxon still has not paid the people of Alaska.
Voice 2
The spill had long-lasting effects. The oil did a lot of damage to the environment. But it also affected the
people living in the cities and towns on the coast. These people made their living by working in the ocean.
They needed the oceans to be healthy. The fishing industry suffered when the spill killed many fish. Riki Ott,
used to be a fisherman in the area.
Voice 3
“We saw the worst effects of the spill four and five years after the spill, not in 1989.”
Voice 1
Some fish populations have recovered since the accident. But fishermen in Cordova say that people do not
want to buy their fish. People are afraid that the fish may not be healthy.
The fisherman can no longer make enough money to support their families. Many have moved from their
homes to find other work. The towns depend on the fishing industry. When the fish leave, the fishermen
leave. When the fishermen leave, the town can not survive.
Voice 2
The oil spill in Alaska is not the only oil spill that has happened. Oil spills 21  happen too often. They
happen all over the world. Almost every coast in the world has experienced 22  an oil spill. Many oil spills
are larger than the one in Alaska. They have happened in the Middle East, in Europe, and Africa.
Voice 1
These oil spills can effect the environment in very serious ways. It is important for oil companies to protect
people and the environment. But it is also important for people like you and me to protect the environment.
We all use oil in some way. People use oil in their cars, and in other machines around the house. Airplanes
and trucks use oil for fuel to transport goods. Oil helps us live. But people must be careful with oil. All
people must use oil responsibly 23 . Do not let the oil you use damage the environment.

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