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A picture-postcard beach on one of Thailand's most popular tourist islands is now the focus of frantic efforts to staunch a tide of oil sweeping ashore. |
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泰國最熱門的其中一座觀光島嶼上有一片美麗如明信片的海灘，現在卻是一場慌忙救災行動的焦點，救災人員致力於遏阻石油隨著海潮沖上海岸。 |
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Where pleasure seekers would normally relax on pristine white sand, sandwiched between two lush green headlands, now white-coated cleanup crew smeared with crude suck oil from the shallow waters. |
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這片夾在兩座翠綠陸岬間的純淨白沙，原本通常是追求享樂的人放鬆的地方，現在卻只見身穿白袍的清潔人員身上沾滿了原油，把油從淺水處吸起。 |
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Gobbets of oil lie along the beach, a thin sheen covers much of the wet sand and oil-drenched booms lie like giant black snakes along the shoreline. |
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一灘灘的油一路積在海灘上，潮溼的沙子不少都覆蓋著一層薄薄的油光，沾滿油的欄油柵蜿蜒於海岸線上，猶如巨大的黑蛇。 |
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The sea is a rust red color and the odor of fuel hangs heavy in the air. |
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Not even a brisk onshore wind can keep the smell away. |
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海水呈現鏽紅色，空氣中滿是強烈的油味。清新海風也吹不走那氣味。 |
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For the past four days, crude has been washing up here and cleanup crews have been dealing with it the best way they can -- pumping it into holding tanks, containing it with booms, even mopping it up with absorbent pads. |
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在過去四天當中，原油一再沖上此處的海岸，清潔人員只能盡力處理──將油抽進收集槽，以欄油柵加以圍堵，甚至用吸油墊擦拭。 |
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Ao Prao beach on the island of Koh Samet is the main impact zone of the 50,000 liters of oil (around 13,200 gallons) spilled during a faulty transfer operation between a tanker and a seabed pipeline on Saturday. |
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沙美島上的奧普勞沙灘是受影響的主要區域，週六有一艘油輪與海底管線的輸油作業出了問題，導致五萬公升（約一萬三千二百加侖）的原油漏出。 |
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About 600 soldiers, volunteers and workers from PTT Global Chemical, the partially state-owned oil giant that has claimed responsibility for the spill, are involved in the cleanup. |
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參與清潔工作的人員包括約六百名的士兵、志工與 PTT 全球化學公司的員工，該公司是一家半國營的石油大廠，已表明漏油事故屬於該公司的責任。 |
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A PTT spokesman says that 70% of the oil has been dealt with. |
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The remaining crude will be "90% clear by Friday or Sunday at the latest." |
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PTT 全球化學公司的一名發言人指出，漏出的原油已有百分之七十處理妥當，剩下的部分「最遲在週五或週日即可清除百分之九十」。 |
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In some ways, Thailand has been lucky. |
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There are more than 200 oil installations in the Gulf of Thailand, which co-exist uneasily in an area known as the marine breadbasket of the country. |
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就某些方面而言，泰國一直相當幸運。泰國灣裡有超過兩百座的石油設施，與這個被稱為泰國海洋糧倉的地區共存在一起，令人難以安心。 |
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