VOA标准英语2009-Somali Pirates Attack US-Flagged Ship Once A

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
18 November 2009

A U.S.-flagged container ship which was hijacked² by Somali pirates seven months ago has been attacked again off the coast of Somalia. Pirates were unsuccessful in their second attempt to hijack¹ the Maersk Alabama.

 
US-flagged Maersk Alabama arrives at Port of Mombasa, Kenya (File)
U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, says four pirates riding in a fast skiff came within 270 meters of the American-flagged container ship early Wednesday morning.  Maersk Alabama was about 965 kilometers off the northeast coast of Somalia and was steaming toward the Kenyan port city of Mombasa when it came under attack.

The U.S. Navy says the crew of Maersk Alabama undertook evasive maneuvers³ and deployed⁵ long-range acoustical⁶ devices, which make noise painful to the human ear. The crew also responded with small-arms fire after pirates fired automatic weapons at the ship. The pirates abandoned the attack without causing injuries or damage to the vessel⁸.

U.S. Vice⁷ Admiral Bill Gortney, from the U.S. Naval⁹ Forces Central Command, issued a statement, praising Maersk Alabama's owner and crew for following maritime¹⁰ industry's best practices, including having a security team on board to help prevent a hijacking¹¹.

In April, the 155-meter vessel made international headlines when it was seized by pirates who held captain Richard Phillips hostage at gunpoint for five days in a lifeboat. He was freed by U.S. commandos who killed three of the pirates.

A spokesman for the European Naval Force described the second attempted hijacking of the Maersk Alabama as "pure chance."

Wednesday's attack came on the heels of a U.N. report, which said the presence of international warships¹² off the coast of Somalia, as well as improved efforts by ships to protect themselves, have considerably¹³ reduced the number of successful hijackings in the region this year, especially in the Gulf¹⁴ of Aden.

But the report, submitted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, noted¹⁵ that intensified¹⁶ anti-piracy¹⁷ activity in the Gulf of Aden is also forcing pirates to hunt for targets in the Indian Ocean, closer to the island nation of the Seychelles.

Since the beginning of October, seven of the eight vessels¹⁸ seized by pirates have been in the vicinity of the Seychelles. Recently, the government began allowing the U.S. Navy to use the airport in the capital Mahe to deploy⁴ unmanned aerial vehicles to combat piracy. The Seychelles also signed an agreement last week to allow European warships and military personnel to pursue pirates from the high seas into Seychellian waters and to use necessary force.

A regional analyst¹⁹ for Jane's Defense²⁰ Weekly, Lauren Gelfand, says pirates are showing greater sophistication and adaptability²¹ every year, challenging international efforts to find effective counter measures.

"The deterrence²² efforts are working in the Gulf of Aden," said Gelfand. "But they are also limited in their effectiveness because it is such a vast area they are trying to patrol with limited assets. And the fact that there are not enough air assets, whether it is maritime patrol aircraft or UAVs, shows that they are only going to be limited in their success in deterring²³ further pirate attacks as pirates become more and more innovative²⁴."

Somalia-based pirates are currently holding 13 vessels and crew hostage for ransom²⁵. They are also holding a retired²⁶ British couple, kidnapped from their sail boat off the Seychelles last month. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 acoustical   

adj. 听觉的，声学的，音响学的

参考例句：

• This system can set up acoustical resonances. 这种系统能产生共鸣。
• The relevance of acoustical principles is by no means limited to sound and hearing. 声学原理并不仅仅适用于声音和听觉。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

14 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。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 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》

19 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

20 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

21 adaptability   

n.适应性

参考例句：

• It has a wide range of adaptability.它的应用性广。

22 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

23 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

24 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

25 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。

26 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。