VOA标准英语2009年-Rise in Somali Piracy Contributes to Incre

By Alan Boswell
Nairobi
22 October 2009
 

 
The rise in piracy¹ off the Somali coast has resulted in more global piracy cases in 2009 than in all of 2008, according to a maritime² watchdog group. Despite the rise in attacks, the number of successful hijackings has fallen.

The International Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber⁴ of Commerce, reports 306 piracy incidents have been reported in the first three quarters of 2009 compared to 293 reported in all of 2008.

The group attributes the jumps in total attacks from last year to Somali pirates. Attacks in the Gulf⁵ of Aden have nearly doubled, and attacks east of the Somali coast have increased nearly four-fold.

The piracy appears to be increasing in armed intensity⁶ as well. The group reports the number of attacks that involved the use of firearms has doubled from 2008.

International Maritime Bureau Director Pottengal Mukundan sees a silver lining⁷ in the grim statistics.

"What is very interesting is that the number of vessels⁸, which have been successfully hijacked¹⁰, [has] gone down from the figures last year," Mukundan said.

Mukundan attributes the drop in hijackings both to the greater use of international navy patrols in the dangerous waters, as well as better prepared crews who brave the risky¹¹ shipping¹² lanes.

He says captains of these ships are learning how to out-savvy the pirates in case of an attack, using evasive tactics that keep the ship moving even as the pirates open fire.

Somalis claim organized piracy developed out of efforts by local fisherman to protect against illicit¹³ overfishing by outsiders taking advantage of the country's inner turmoil¹⁴. Once bands of fisherman developed the capacity to move further out to sea and defend their coastline against unwanted intruders, some soon realized the potential booming business of hijacking³ the mostly defenseless cargo¹⁵ ships in the area. 

According to Mukundan, piracy can only be fully⁹ addressed on land, where pirates are able to arrange funding and to operate with near-impunity. 

"The key to the problem of Somalia is in Somalia itself. And what we have seen the last three or four months is action taken, for example, by the state of Puntland in Somalia to catch some of these pirates and put them on trial and punish them," Mukundan said. "This is very important because it is the local community taking responsibility for the local criminals and punishing them under their own laws."

The number of piracy incidents waned¹⁶ in the third quarter of 2009 due largely to monsoon¹⁷ winds in the area that kept most pirates from venturing far out to sea. But the attacks have started to pick back up. 

Pirates attacked two ships off the eastern Africa coast Thursday, only one of which successfully fended¹⁸ off their assailants. On Monday, a Chinese bulk carrier was hijacked and is being held for ransom¹⁹.

1 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。

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 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。

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 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。

6 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

7 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 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。

11 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

12 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。

13 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

14 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

15 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

16 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

18 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。