VOA慢速英语2009-EXPLORATIONS - Piracy Wave Hits Ships of All Fla

VOICE ONE:

I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about a wave of crime taking place in the warm waters off the east coast of Africa.

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VOICE ONE:

The weather was good on the morning of April eighth. One sailor described the sea as being as smooth as glass. The container ship, Maersk Alabama, was sailing through the Gulf¹ of Aden to the port of Mombasa, Kenya, on the east coast of Africa. The American-operated ship carried thousands of tons of agricultural materials for the World Food Program and other aid organizations.
　
The Maersk Alabama leaving the port of Mombasa, Kenya, in April

But, for days, a small boat had been following the Maersk Alabama. In it, four heavily armed Somali men were watching and waiting. Now, the pirates saw their chance. They moved to board the ship.

Captain Richard Phillips sounded a warning and the crew took positions in several parts of the ship. Soon the pirates had climbed on board.

Their goal: hijack² the ship and hold the crew hostage until the ship's owners paid for their release.

VOICE TWO:

One of the pirates pointed³ a gun at Captain Phillips and demanded that he order the crew to surrender. But the crew avoided capture by hiding in places like the engine room for many tense hours. As the pirates spread out searching for hostages, the crew was even able to capture one of the Somalis.

Now the captain had something to negotiate with. He offered the pirates a deal. He suggested the pirates could escape using one of the ship's lifeboats. They could hold him until the crew released the captured Somali. Then, they were to let him go. The pirates agreed.

The three Somalis climbed into the lifeboat with the captain. Then, the crew released the captured man. But the pirates did not keep their word. Once they were reunited with their partner, they fled with their hostage. Captain Phillips had saved his crew and ship--but at the cost of his freedom and possibly his life.

VOICE ONE:

The crew followed the lifeboat holding Captain Phillips and his captors. Soon they were joined by the U.S.S. Bainbridge, a United States Navy warship⁴.

The Somalis held Captain Phillips for five days. He made an unsuccessful attempt to escape by jumping into the ocean. But he was recaptured. The lifeboat ran out of fuel and had to be pulled by the U.S.S. Bainbridge. The situation grew increasingly tense as more United States warships⁵ entered the area. The pirates threatened to kill their hostage if they were attacked.
　
Agents bring piracy⁶ suspect Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse⁷ to the New York office of the FBI

Then, shortly after sunset on April twelfth, Navy special operations forces feared that Captain Phillips' life was in immediate⁸ danger. With orders from President Obama to act in such a situation, they opened fire, killing⁹ three Somalis. The remaining pirate surrendered.

Federal officials have brought Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse to New York City to face trial. He is the first person to be tried on piracy charges in the United States in more than one hundred years.

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VOICE TWO:

East African pirates are a growing threat to international shipping¹⁰. About twenty thousand ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year on their way to the Suez Canal.

The International Maritime¹¹ Bureau reports there were one hundred eleven pirate attacks in waters near the Somali coast last year. That is almost double the number from two thousand seven. But already this year, pirates have carried out more than eighty-four attacks in the waters of the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast.

Piracy has a high economic price for ship owners and operators. The Congressional Research Service estimates that pirates were paid more than thirty million dollars for the release of ships and crews they held last year. Other estimates are even higher.

A United Nations resolution permits international naval¹² forces to fight piracy in Somali waters. About twenty countries have sent warships to the area to protect merchant ships. Slowly, the international community is working toward a legal process to try piracy suspects close to where they operate.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime says Kenya has agreed to be the first nation in the area to try Somali piracy suspects. In December, the East African nation agreed to deploy¹³ police on international warships who would bring suspects to Kenya for trial. The U.N. crime agency is now seeking support for the plan from the United States Congress. Agency chief Antonio Maria Costa says other nations in the area may join the effort. But, he says, the plan's success depends on international support.

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VOICE ONE:

Piracy became a serious problem off the coast of Somalia after the collapse¹⁴ of the government in nineteen ninety-one. The country could not police its own waters. Foreign fishing ships began illegally catching¹⁵ huge amounts of high-value tuna and shrimp¹⁶ in Somali waters. One report estimates Somali fishermen lost one hundred million dollars to foreign fleets.

Somali officials say some fishermen armed themselves and began demanding money from fishing ships near the Somali coast about ten to fifteen years ago. Those first attempts at demanding a "tax" of foreign ships evolved into highly organized hijacking¹⁷ operations. There are reports that pirates cooperate with each other to seize ships.
　
The Sirius Star

Many Somali pirates are based in the lawless ports of the Puntland area. They use small boats with powerful motors to chase down slower merchant ships. The pirates have machine guns and rocket-powered bombs. They are also said to use global positioning and communications devices. Most attempts to hijack ships fail. However, recent reports say they currently hold about twenty ships and about two hundred fifty hostages.

Last November, Somali pirates seized a Saudi oil tanker¹⁸ carrying two million containers of oil. The Sirius Star is the biggest ship ever hijacked¹⁹. The attack took place far from the coast showing the pirates' ability to carry out long distance raids. In January, the pirates claimed that they released the Sirius Star and its crew after three million dollars was paid.

VOICE TWO:

Piracy is not just a problem in the western Indian Ocean. There is a possibility of pirate attacks wherever there is poverty, shipping traffic and relatively²⁰ little law enforcement. The coast of Nigeria has long been a high risk area. Most of the attacks reported in Nigerian waters are on ships linked to the oil industry.

Another area of increasing danger is off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean. Seven incidents were reported there in the first three months of this year.

However, piracy had decreased in the Straits of Malacca and the eastern Indian Ocean where it has traditionally been a problem.

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VOICE ONE:

Pirates have probably existed as long as valuable goods have been transported by sea. Pirates robbed ancient Greek and Roman ships.

From the fifteen hundreds to the seventeen hundreds, pirates from Britain attacked French and Spanish ships carrying riches. Some were known as "privateers." They were given special letters by the British government to attack the ships of enemy nations. But privateers did not work for the government. Their support came from private investors²¹ who shared in the captured riches.

VOICE TWO:
　
Commodore William Bainbridge

Over two hundred years ago, the United States struggled with piracy in the Mediterranean²² Sea. A group of small states on the coast of North Africa was seizing American ships and holding their crews hostage. The Barbary States, as they were known, demanded payment for the release of hostages and safe passage of American ships. President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay. He sent the United States Navy on its first foreign expedition to punish the states of Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis and Algiers.

The First Barbary War stopped piracy against American ships for a time. But it was not until eighteen fifteen and the Second Barbary War that the power of the Barbary pirates was broken. Commodore William Bainbridge was a hero of that war. Today, the modern destroyer, the U.S.S. Bainbridge, honors the American naval officer in name and in spirit. The warship will forever be linked to the dramatic rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. You can find transcripts²³, MP3s and podcasts of our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

5 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

6 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。

7 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

11 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

12 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。

13 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

14 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

16 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

17 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

18 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

19 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

20 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

21 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

22 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

23 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句