2006年VOA标准英语-Body of Fisherman Killed by Russian Guards Retu

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
19 August 2006

Russia has turned over to a senior Japanese official the body of a crab¹ fisherman shot by Russian maritime² border patrol agents. The incident in disputed waters has strained relations between Russia and Japan, and brought back into focus their decades-old territorial³ dispute.

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		Undated file photo of Mitsuhiro Morita

As the body of Mitsuhiro Morita, 35, was brought ashore⁴ Saturday afternoon, members of Japan's Coast Guard saluted⁵ the casket, draped in a white cloth.

Japan's vice⁶ foreign minister, Akiko Yamanaka, was aboard the Coast Guard patrol vessel⁷, Saroma, to retrieve⁸ the body on Kunashir, an island claimed by Japan, but in Russian hands since the end of World War II.

It was in the disputed waters of the southern Kurils, an area Japan claims as its Northern Territories, that Russia's maritime border guards opened fire Wednesday on the Number 31 Kisshin Maru fishing boat. Morita was shot in the head.

Russia says the five-ton Japanese vessel was illegally catching⁹ crab in Russian waters, and that warning shots were fired only after the boat tried to escape.

After escorting Morita's body back to Japan, Vice Foreign Minister Yamanaka told reporters she had just met briefly¹⁰ with the captain of the Kisshin Maru and two other crewmembers being held by the Russians.

Yamanaka says the crew is in good health and being treated well, and that she expects all except the captain to be released soon. Yamanaka says the crew is stunned¹¹ by the death of their deckhand. She did not question them about the shooting, because Russian officials were present throughout her brief meeting with them.

Japan has also dispatched Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki to Moscow to seek the release of the detained crewmembers, who face poaching charges.

Under an agreement between the two countries, Japanese fishing boats must have permission from Russia to fish in the waters Moscow claims as its territory.

The shooting of the Japanese fisherman marked the first time in half a century that a clash between Russian patrols and Japanese fishermen had resulted in a death.

Japan has long demanded the return of four small island groups seized by Soviet¹² Russia in the waning¹³ days of World War II, 61 years ago this month. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a treaty, formally ending hostilities¹⁴.

1 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

2 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。

3 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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。

8 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

9 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。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

12 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

13 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。