回应弗林特水污染危机 奥巴马总统以身试水

Sipping filtered city water to show it's again drinkable, President Barack Obama promised last Wednesday to ride herd on leaders at all levels of government until every drop of water flowing into homes in Flint, Michigan, is safe to use.

上周三，美国总统贝拉克·奥巴马在喝了过滤的自来水、以证明其安全性之后，当众承诺，会监督各级政府领导，保证密歇根州弗林特市每一滴流入家庭中的水都可以安全使用。

He also promised that the aging pipes that contaminated the water with lead will be replaced, but cautioned that the project will take time. Obama said he wanted to use the crisis to make long-term improvements to the city, where more than 40 percent of residents live in poverty.

此外，奥巴马总统还承诺，将会换掉那些导致铅渗入水中的老化管道，但这个工程需要花费一些时间。在弗林特市，40%的居民生活窘迫。奥巴马表示，他想借此次水污染危机，改善这里居民的生活条件。

"It's not going to happen overnight, but we have to get started," Obama told hundreds of people gathered in a high school gymnasium.

“这件事不可能一个晚上就完成，但是我们必须立刻采取行动，”奥巴马总统对聚集在一所高中的体育馆的成千上百位居民这样说道。

"I've got your back," Obama said. "I will not rest and I'm going to make sure that the leaders at every level of government don't rest until every drop of water that flows to your homes is safe to drink and safe to cook with and safe to bathe in." He called providing safe drinking water a basic responsibility of government.

奥巴马总统说：“我会全力支持你们。我不会有任何松懈，也确信各级政府领导不会有一丝松懈，直到确保每一滴家庭用水都是安全的，保证人们可以放心饮用、做饭和洗澡。”他还表示，保证饮用水的安全是政府的基本责任。

After coughing several times during his remarks, Obama asked for and drank from a glass of water. He also drank city water after getting a lengthy briefing on the crisis, which forced residents to spend months drinking, cooking and bathing with bottled water.

奥巴马总统在讲话中咳嗽了几次，随后要了一杯水喝。在完成关于水污染危机的冗长讲话之后，他还喝了一杯自来水。几个月以来，弗林特居民饮用、做饭和洗澡使用的都是瓶装水。

Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint in mid-January and ordered federal aid to supplement the state and local response. By then, however, the crisis was in full bloom.

在今年一月份中旬，奥巴马总统宣布弗林特市进入紧急状态，下令联邦给予密歇根州和地方政府援助。不过在那时，水污染危机就已经大肆蔓延了。