| McDonnell, who has made oil drilling off Virginia's coast, one of his administration's top tasks, flew to Houston on Monday to advertise the benefits of offshore drilling at a national conference. He told reporters before he left that he does not want to postpone drilling but to learn from the accident off Louisiana's coast. "What we do as Americans is that we find out what went wrong and how can we do things better," McDonnell said. "I think that's the spirit of American people. " President Obama announced in March that Virginia will become one of the first East Coast states to drill offshore for oil and natural gas. Companies could conduct exploratory drilling in Virginia's waters 50 miles off the coast late next year or early in 2012. In Virginia Beach, the state's largest city and one that relies heavily on tourism, Mayor Will Sessoms said he would be worried if the timetable was not changed. Sessoms supported drilling and helped the city pass a resolution (决议) in favor of it, in part to help the tourism industry by keeping the cost of gas down. But, he said, the Louisiana accident was a wakeup call. "It's alarming to me, " Sessoms said. "It gives me great concern. " Obama swore Friday that no expansion of offshore oil drilling would take place until investigations into the Louisiana accident were complete. Virginia's officials, who support drilling, said they agree that drilling should be delayed. Sen. Mark Warner said it was "appropriate" for Obama to delay offshore projects. McDonnell said he wants to see a full investigation into the Louisiana accident, but he still thinks that drilling could begin off Virginia's coast as soon as next year or early 2012. McDonnell has also said that drilling off Virginia's coast would create thousands of jobs, as well as lessen US dependence on foreign oil. A recent explosion and fire on an exploratory well in the Gulf (海湾) of Mexico left 11 workers missing and dead. Crude oil (原油) has been leaking into the gulf since, inching closer to the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The accident confirmed the worst fears of environmental groups and people already worried that possible spills (溢出) could harm plants, animals, and tourism. |
| 1. What was McDonnell's opinion about drilling off Virginia's coast? |
| A. It should be stopped as it may cause damage to the environment. B. It should be delayed due to the gulf oil accident. C. It has a lot of benefits, and thus shouldn't be delayed. D. It could make the US dependent on foreign oil. |
| 2. Why did Will Sessoms support drilling off Virginia's coast? |
| A. It could create thousands of jobs. B. It could help recover the economy. C. It met the spirit of American people. D. It partly helped the tourism industry. |
| 3. What do we know about the accident? |
| A. The explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers. B. The leaked crude oil may affect the coasts of 3 states. C. The investigation into the accident has been completed. D. Officials who support drilling off Virginia's coast are not in favor of the investigation. |
| 4. What is the main idea of the report? |
| A. Officials reconsider support for drilling after the gulf oil accident. B. It is dangerous to drill oil off the coasts. C. People should learn from oil accidents to reduce damage to our environment. D. Investigations should be carried out immediately after oil accidents. |