雅思听力：美国历史上最严重的原油泄漏灾难

【时事聚焦】 2010年4月20日，英国石油公司租赁的位于美国墨西哥湾的一座半潜式钻井平台爆炸起火。火势持续大约36小时后，平台沉没，11名工作人员遇难。钻井平台底部油井自4月24日起漏油不止，造成了大面积的原油污染。事故发生后，英国石油公司表示为此次原油泄漏事故负责。墨西哥湾原油泄漏事件已成为美国历史上最严重的生态灾难。受墨西哥湾漏油事件影响，美国6月2日宣布将禁渔区域扩大至22.8万平方公里。详见以下的原版新闻：

　　The worst oil spill in U.S. history

　　The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20 — triggering a spill that is bleeding hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico. From the day the oil began spewing from energy giant BP's partially blown well thousands of feet below the surface of the Gulf, it was obvious that a major environmental disaster was unfolding. As the weeks passed and BP failed to cap the well, the worst-case scenarios just kept getting worse.

　　By the end of May, according to the best estimates of the daily leakage rate, the well had poured at least 20 million gal. (75 million L) of crude into the Gulf, perhaps much more, making it far and away the worst oil spill in U.S. History.

　　But when BP's most recent attempt to stop the bleeding — the top-kill method — met with failure on May 29, it became clear that the crisis wouldn't end for weeks, maybe even months. Though BP announced it would try a cap over the well to divert the spewing oil, its officials admit that even if the new method is successful, about 20% of the oil will continue to leak, at least until a relief well is completed in August.

　　Already oil has stained some of the marshes of southern Louisiana — home to 40% of the coastal wetlands in the continental U.S. — disrupting the habitats of shorebirds, sea turtles and other threatened species. Beyond the shoreline, by June 2, Washington had banned fishing in more than 37% of the federal Gulf of Mexico waters — more than 88,000 sq. mi. (228,000 sq km) — a body blow to the region's valuable fishing industry. That's nearly double the area that was off-limits on May 18, an indication of where the trend lines are pointing. And many scientists believe that the greatest threat could be below the surface, where independent researchers say they've found evidence of miles-long plumes of oil potentially poisoning sea life and disrupting the marine food chain.

　　【热点话题】 墨西哥湾漏油事件的严重程度引起了全世界的广泛关注。这起原油泄漏事故严重威胁在墨西哥湾生存的数百种鱼类、鸟类和其它生物，当地渔民赖以生存的捕捞业有可能遭到毁灭性的打击。朗阁海外考试研究中心分析认为，此话题与雅思听力考试中的Energy及Ecology联系紧密。

　　? Green Tax(绿色税)

　　在2010年3月27日的Section 4中，讨论了Airport Development的话题，我们一起来了解一下相关的内容。

　　l 什么是Green Tax?

　　绿色税(Green Tax)，也有人称之为环境税(Environmental Taxation)或生态税(Ecological Taxation)、，是20世纪末国际税收学界才兴起的概念，至今没有一个被广泛接受的统一定义。它是把环境污染和生态破坏的社会成本，内化到生产成本和市场价格中去，再通过市场机制来分配环境资源的一种经济手段。部分发达国家征收的环境税主要有二氧化硫税、水污染税、噪声税、固体废物税和垃圾税等5种。