VOA慢速英语2015 "幽灵船"载腐尸漂到日本（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-12-02 Dead Bodies in Mystery Boats Wash Up in Japan "幽灵船"载腐尸漂到日本

At least 11 damaged wooden boats carrying bodies drifted into seas near Japan over the past month, Japanese Coast Guard officials say.

日本海上保安厅官员近日称，过去的几个月里，至少有11艘载有腐尸的木船漂流至日本海岸。

Most of the boats had fishing equipment, nets and signs containing words in Korean, the Associated Press reported. One boat carried a North Korean People’s Army sign.

据美联社报道，这些船大多为渔船，船上除了捕鱼设施，例如渔网外还发现了一些韩文标志。其中一艘船身就印有“朝鲜人民军”的字眼。

Japan’s Coast Guard spokesman, Yoshiaki Hiroto, would not confirm the boats came from  North Korea, according to the Associated Press. He said the wrecked boats are apparently from the Korean Peninsula.

美联社报道称，日本海上保安厅发言人Yoshiaki Hiroto不确信这些“幽灵船”是否来自朝鲜，但有一点可以确信的是这些失事船只来自朝鲜半岛。

He also said the small boats the Japanese Coast Guard discovered are not typical of boats used in South Korea.

他还表示，日本海上保安厅发现的这些体型较小的船只在韩国并不多见。

What did officials find?

检察人员还发现了什么？

Japanese officials say dozens of damaged boats drift toward Japan every year. On November 20, officials found four bodies in two capsized, or overturned, boats. They were off the coast of Ishikawa prefecture, Japanese officials said.

据日本官员称，每年都会有几十艘废弃的旧船漂至日本。今年的11月20号，日本官员就在两艘倾覆的弃船中发现4具腐烂的尸体。这两艘船漂至日本的石川县。

Two days later, seven bodies were found inside another wooden boat off the Fukui prefecture.

两天后，在漂至福井县的另一艘木制旧船里又发现了7具尸体。

Many of the bodies are in such bad shape that it has been impossible to determine the cause of death, Japanese officials said. They said some of the wrecked boats were used for fishing, and that some fishermen may have been trying to defect to Japan.

日本官员称，这些尸体已高度腐烂，难以辨别死因。这些弃船之前都是渔船，可能船上的渔民想要逃到日本。

Words in This Story

origin – n. the point or place where something begins or is created

decomposed – adj. to cause something (such as dead plants and the bodies of dead animals) to be slowly destroyed and broken down by natural processes

drifted – v. a slow and gradual movement or change from one place, condition, etc., to another

prefecture – n. any one of the areas into which some countries (such as Japan and France) are divided for local government

defect – v.  to leave a country, political party, organization, etc., and go to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy