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Just before 10 p.m., the cap was in place above the well as oil continued to flow and workers set about adjusting it. |
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就在晚間十點前,蓋子已經在油井上方就定位。工作人員開始調整蓋子,石油仍持續湧出。 |
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Nevertheless, the company had reached a "milestone" in its efforts to rein in the gushing well when it managed to cut away the remaining damaged riser pipe, according to BP CEO Tony Hayward. |
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That was the first step prior to the new dome being lowered down 5,000 feet to the well on the ocean floor. |
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Hayward stressed the operation still needed several hours to be completed. |
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儘管如此,英國石油公司執行長東尼.海華德表示,該公司已把損壞的隔水導管全部切除,因此在遏止漏油的努力上已算是達到了一個「里程碑」。切除隔水導管是第一步,接著才能把新的圓蓋送到海面下五千呎,蓋住海底的油井。海華德強調這項作業仍然需要好幾個小時才能完成。 |
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"The next 12 to 24 hours will give us an indication of how successful this attempt will be," Hayward said from the company's U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas. |
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海華德在德州休士頓的英國石油公司美國總部表示:「在接下來的十二到二十四個小時,就可以知道這項嘗試是否成功了。」 |
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A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said he believed that the operation would be wrapped up by sometime Thursday night. |
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He added that he did not know at that time whether the cap was actually working. |
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美國海岸防衛隊發言人說,他認為這項作業將可在週四夜間完成,但他也表示自己目前仍不知道這個蓋子是否能夠發揮效用。 |
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The events Thursday followed a string of setbacks as workers made one attempt after another to stem the flow of oil into the Gulf. |
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Since the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform following an explosion more than six weeks ago, thousands of barrels of oil have flowed into the Gulf of Mexico and surround coastal regions. |
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在週四之前,工作人員已經遭遇了一連串的挫折,他們三番兩次嘗試遏止石油湧入墨西哥灣。自從深水地平線鑽油平台在六個多星期前因爆炸而沉沒之後,已經有多達好幾千桶的石油湧入了墨西哥灣及周圍的海岸區域。 |
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Engineers attempted to cut the leaking pipe earlier in the week with a precision diamond-edged saw but that failed. |
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They were forced to settle for a rougher cut, which means a rubber seal inserted in the pipe may not fit as tightly as hoped. |
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工程師在本週稍早企圖利用精密的鑽石尖鋸切割破損的油管,但是沒有成功。他們被迫接受比較粗糙的切割結果,因此塞進油管的橡膠塞可能無法如希望的那麼密合。 |
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U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said he felt they were making important progress in stemming the flow of oil. |
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美國海岸防衛隊司令薩德.艾倫表示,他認為他們在遏阻漏油的工作上已經獲得了重大進展。 |
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"I know they're working hard at it right now," he told CNN. |
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"Even as we're talking here, it's happening 5,000 feet below us." |
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「我知道他們現在正努力解決問題,」他向 CNN 表示:「就在我們說話的這個時刻,他們也還在我們下方五千呎深處進行作業。」 |