墨西哥湾漏油成当地人脱贫良机

       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，英国石油公司原油泄露使得墨西哥湾的生态几近毁灭。然而对于当地濒死的渔业以及自身难保的律师们，此次“灾难”却是个发财的难得机会。

　　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".

　　在路易斯安那州格兰德岛一家小有名气的酒吧里，渔民们对我诉说着各自的落魄经历。蒂姆给自己和朋友们买醉的同时抱怨道：“我以前一年能赚10万呢，现在什么都没了。”另一个人称“牛奶”名叫多德的捕虾人则说：“我们当中船大一些的还能出海捕虾，因为可以驶向更远的海域（近海已被污染）。”多德的捕虾船明日即将进行为期十天的远航，路更远，消耗的燃料也更多，故而他有权从英国石油公司得到每月5千美元的赔偿。最近他刚刚收到第一张赔款支票。而他的三个水手也会有每月2千5百美元的收入，理由是“失业”。

　　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.

　　成百上千的渔民已经将自己的小渔船改装成了“滤油船”，即将吸油垫沉入海洋，模仿古老的泄水塞，将污染物过滤出来。