2006年VOA标准英语-Egyptian Ferry Carrying More Than 1,300 Si

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
03 February 2006

Ferry "Al Salaam¹ Boccaccio 98" in Suez canal (file photo)   
  
An Egyptian passenger ferry has sunk in the Red Sea, carrying more than 1,300 people. Egyptian television is reporting that at least 100 survivors² have been pulled from the water. There is no word on how many people may have died in the incident.

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It is not yet known what caused the passenger ferry to sink en route from the Saudi port of Dubah to the Egyptian port of Safaga. Officials say severe weather and high seas could have been a factor.

Red Sea provincial³ Governor Abu Bakr El-Rashidi told VOA that search-and-rescue operations began as soon as authorities realized that the ship had not arrived on schedule.

"We lost contact with the ship at 3 o'clock in the morning," he said.  "Search-and-rescue procedures are under way. Four ships and planes are looking for the sunken ship and survivors."

Television footage shows airplanes and helicopters searching the water. Reports from the Red Sea say high winds and rough seas are hampering⁴ rescue efforts.

There are now reports of lifeboats being sighted carrying survivors. But the Reuters news agency in Safaga reports that many bodies are also being brought back to the port.

Andrea Odone is an official with El-Salam Maritime⁵ Transport, the company that owns the ship. He said it looks like it sank without warning.

"No, there were no distress⁶ calls,"  she said. "No distress was recorded from the satellites or whatever."

Odone identified the vessel⁷ as the Boccaccio 98, contradicting earlier reports that it was called the Salam 98. He said there were 1,318 passengers on board and 96 crew members. He said most of the passengers were Egyptian, with some Saudis and a few from other Middle Eastern countries.

"We do not have and we cannot confirm anything about how many lifeboats have launched or whatever," he said. "What we can say is the vessel is well equipped with safety device for 2,000 passengers, more than 2,000 passengers. For this part we are confident that the crew is well prepared. But at the moment we cannot guess the reason or whatever."

A sister ship owned by the same company sank in October after colliding with a Cypriot commercial vessel. Two people were killed in that accident.

1 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

5 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。

6 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

7 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。