墨西哥灣漏油成當地人脫貧良機

       No one can deny that the BP oil spill has devastated wildlife on the region. But for a perishing fishing industry, ambulance-chasing lawyers, it is a golden opportunity.

　　毋庸置疑，英國石油公司原油泄露使得墨西哥灣的生態(tài)幾近毀滅。然而對于當地瀕死的漁業(yè)以及自身難保的律師們，此次“災難”卻是個發(fā)財的難得機會。

　　At a popular bar, the Vu-Doo Lounge, fishermen ply me with riches-to-rags stories. "I was making $100,000 a year. Now I’m making nothing,' I was told by Tim Cheramie, who was buying rounds of Bud Lite for a group of friends. One boat captain, Dodd "Milk" Champagne, blurted: "Those of us with bigger boats are still shrimping because we can go further out to sea, beyond the closed area." His vessel was due to depart the next morning for a ten-day expedition. The vessel will cover more miles, devouring extra fuel, so he is entitled to compensation from BP on a monthly basis, and he has just received his first cheque of $5,000. His three deckhands also have each submitted claims – for $2,500 each – for compensation "lost earnings".

　　在路易斯安那州格蘭德島一家小有名氣的酒吧里，漁民們對我訴說著各自的落魄經歷。蒂姆給自己和朋友們買醉的同時抱怨道：“我以前一年能賺10萬呢，現(xiàn)在什么都沒了。”另一個人稱“牛奶”名叫多德的捕蝦人則說：“我們當中船大一些的還能出海捕蝦，因為可以駛向更遠的海域（近海已被污染）。”多德的捕蝦船明日即將進行為期十天的遠航，路更遠，消耗的燃料也更多，故而他有權從英國石油公司得到每月5千美元的賠償。最近他剛剛收到第一張賠款支票。而他的三個水手也會有每月2千5百美元的收入，理由是“失業(yè)”。

　　Hundreds of fishermen with smaller boats have converted them into oil-skimming vessels, which lower absorbent pads, resembling old-fashioned draught stoppers, into the ocean to scoop out the contaminants.

　　成百上千的漁民已經將自己的小漁船改裝成了“濾油船”，即將吸油墊沉入海洋，模仿古老的泄水塞，將污染物過濾出來。