2007年VOA标准英语-Freed British Sailors Tell of Ordeal in Iran De

By Sonja Pace
London
06 April 2007

A day after returning home from nearly two weeks' captivity¹ in Iran, some of the 15 British sailors and marines spoke² openly about their ordeal³ - of being kept in isolation⁴, blindfolded⁵, hearing guns cocked behind their heads, being threatened with prison sentences and used for propaganda.  VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.

British sailors answer reporters' questions during press conference in London, 06 Apr 2007

After a day of family reunions, some of the navy crew captured by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces faced the microphones and TV cameras back in Britain to tell their story.

"Good afternoon, my name is Captain Chris Air, Royal Marines.  Myself and the gentleman on my left, Lt. Felix Carman are now going to read our statement," he said.

And the story Captain Air, Lt. Carman and the others told varied⁶ greatly from the photos shown on Iranian television over the past two weeks - of the sailors smiling, chatting, playing chess and seemingly apologetic for allegedly having strayed into Iranian territorial⁷ waters.

"We were blindfolded, stripped of all our kit⁸ [equipment] and led to a room, where I declared myself as the officer in charge, and was introduced to their local commander," he recalled.

Lt. Carmen described events immediately after the crew and their two small boats were surrounded by Iranian forces and taken to a local base.  The treatment, he said got worse once they were transferred to Tehran.

"We were blindfolded, our hands were bound. We were forced up against a wall.  Throughout our ordeal, we faced constant psychological pressure," he said.  "Later, we were stripped and dressed in pajamas⁹.  The next few nights were spent in stone cells, all of us were kept in isolation.  We were interrogated¹⁰ most nights, and presented with two options - if we admitted we'd strayed [into Iranian waters], we'd be back in a plane to the U.K. pretty soon. If we didn't we faced up to seven years in prison."

Carman said a general consensus¹¹ emerged that they would talk, and, to some extent, go along with their captors, without revealing any operational details.

He said, toward the end of their detention¹², they were allowed some time together - in front of the Iranian media.

The one woman in the group, Faye Turney, was separated from the rest of the crew from the start, and told the others had all been released.  She was the first captive shown on Iranian television. She did not take part in Friday's news conference.

The crew's capture March 23 sparked a diplomatic standoff and high-level discussions between London and Tehran.  Iran maintains the British sailors were in Iranian waters when detained, British authorities insist the crew was in Iraqi waters. 

In the end, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was giving a "gift" to the British people, when he announced the sailors' release on Wednesday, indicating Iran succeeded in sending its warning.  And, in London Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain had prevailed though a mix of dialogue and diplomatic pressure, a strategy he said the international community should continue to use with Iran when discussing other issues, such as the situation in Iraq or Iran's nuclear ambitions.

1 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

4 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

5 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

7 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。

8 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

9 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

10 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

12 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。