英文杂志-Pirates and piracy

 　　Piracy¹ - the act of robbery from ships at sea - has existed for thousands of years. It was written about by the ancient Greeks and has been written about ever since. As long as some people have moved valuable cargo² in ships, other people have wanted to rob them.

　　However, to most people in Britain and North America, piracy belongs to the Caribbean of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a time known to some as ‘The Golden Age of Piracy’. This is the era of parrots sitting on shoulders, wooden legs, eye patches, metal hooks instead of hands and men with beards shouting, ‘Aha me hearties’. And people robbing ships.

　　Many of these ideas and images come from books, such as Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’, Defoe’s ‘King of Pyrates’ and Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’. As you may have noticed, pirates are well-represented in films and cartoons, from Errol Flynn to Walt Disney right up to the Curse of the Black Pearl.

　　Why is this era of piracy written about so much in English literature? One obvious reason is that the pirates were British and American. While many stories show them to be cruel robbers and killers³, another view of piracy is commonly depicted⁴, in which the pirates are much more heroic and adventurous⁵. There are a number of reasons for this. One is that rebellious⁶ outlaws⁷ are often attractive figures, especially if they are from another time in history. More importantly, many pirates were acting⁸ in the national interest and became heroes for this. It was quite common for governments to give permission for pirates to attack ships belonging to enemy nations. These pirates were known as ‘privateers’.

　　The British privateers in the Caribbean became famous because they were part of the long-running conflict with Spain for domination of the region and the world. One of England’s great naval⁹ heroes, Sir Francis Drake, was really just a privateer who attacked Spanish ships. The rich cargoes¹⁰ of gold and silver leaving South America were an attractive target for him and many others that followed.

　　Similarly, pirates often have a heroic image in the United States because of their role in the War of Independence against Britain. Initially¹¹, the American navy was very small, so Congress encouraged privateers to attack British ships, which they did, in large numbers. For every ship in the American navy, there were at least ten pirate ships. These caused severe damage to Britain’s ability to supply its army in North America. The privateers fought again in the War of 1812, most famously in New Orleans, where Jean Lafitte and his men played a vital role in the defence of the city.

　　There is another reason why pirates have a positive image in popular history. Most pirate ships were surprisingly egalitarian and democratic. It was normal for the captain to be elected and most issues were decided¹² by a vote. The stolen goods were fairly divided amongst the crew members. Many pirates were men who had escaped from the harder discipline of the merchant ships and the navy. In their escape from authority, they created a model of a more just and fair society, many years ahead of the revolutions in America and France.

　　To many of us, pirates are an interesting and colourful part of history, useful as entertainment but not much else. However, modern piracy is alive and well and increasing every year. In 2002, there were 370 incidences of piracy world-wide. These days, the Caribbean is fairly quiet. The piracy hotspot now is Asia, particularly in the seas around Indonesia, where over a hundred pirate attacks took place.

　　Some acts of piracy are opportunistic, simple affairs – robbers boarding a ship that is waiting in a port, hoping to take money and anything else that can be easily carried. Others use advanced technology and are very organised. Sometimes, the pirates take the valuables from a ship and sometimes they take the entire ship. This is especially true if the cargo is a valuable one that can easily be transferred to another ship, such as oil or gas. Very often, a stolen ship can be repainted, renamed and reused elsewhere. Operations of this size are difficult to hide and money is often paid to government officials to get their help and cooperation. Sometimes, government employees are the pirates – one victim of Asian piracy in the 1990s complained that his attackers appeared to be members of the Navy that was supposed to protect him.

　　Protecting ships is difficult. Most ships have fewer sailors than they did in the past, and they no longer carry weapons. One defence mechanism¹³ now on the market is an electric fence that deters¹⁴ attackers with a 9,000 volt¹⁵ shock. Whether it works or not, it is too late for the fourteen crew of one Indonesian vessel¹⁶. On November 25th 2003, they became the year’s final piracy statistic¹⁷. Their tug¹⁸ boat was pulling a barge¹⁹ when they were attacked by fifteen pirates armed with guns. The crew were ordered to jump off the ship and swim to a nearby island. Fortunately, they all survived, but their ship and the pirates have disappeared.

　　Do you have a romantic image of piracy or do you think pirates are just common criminals? Are there any famous pirates from your country?

1 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

4 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

5 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

6 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

7 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 deters   

v.阻止，制止( deter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The filth here deters all but the invited guest. 这里污秽不堪，除非有事，外人是裹足不前的。 来自辞典例句
• Many people believe that capital punishment deters crime. 很多人相信极刑能阻止犯罪。 来自互联网

15 volt   

n.伏特，伏

参考例句：

• You may use 100 and 110 volt appliances in your room.您可以在房间使用100及110伏特的电器。
• The common service voltage of electric power in our country is 220/380 volt.我国普通供电电压为220/380伏。

16 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

17 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

18 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

19 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。