VOA标准英语 Obama Vows To Combat Somali Pirates

U.S. President Barack Obama says he is determined¹ to halt piracy² in the shipping³ lanes off the coast of Somalia. Mr. Obama spoke⁴ one day after the dramatic rescue of an American cargo⁵ ship captain who had been held hostage by the pirates since last week.
　
President Barack Obama (left), with Vice⁶ President Joe Biden, says the U.S. will seek to halt the increasing threat of piracy off the Horn of Africa, 13 Apr 2009

Richard Phillips was rescued Sunday after members of an elite⁷ Navy unit shot and killed three of his captors.

President Obama ordered the military to take action if there was reason to believe Phillips' life was in danger. He says he is pleased with the results, noting the captain's safety was the top concern throughout the crisis.

"I am very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies that worked tirelessly to resolve this situation," Mr. Obama said.

Mr. Obama says the American people also have reason to be proud of the captain who offered himself up as a hostage to the pirates in an effort to protect the crew of his cargo vessel⁸.

"I share our nation's admiration⁹ for Captain Phillips' courage and leadership and selfless concern for his crew," said Mr. Obama.

The president's first public comments on the dramatic rescue came Monday at an event at the U.S. Department of Transportation. His initial response to Sunday's dramatic events was delivered in the form of a written statement. And in his remarks, he made many of the same points.
　
Capt. Richard Phillips in a family photo released on 08 Apr 2009

He vowed¹⁰ once again that America will do all it can to halt piracy in the region, working in concert with other nations around the world.

"We are going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise. And we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," said Mr. Obama.

The president did not refer to a new round of threats from the pirates, who say they want revenge for the killing¹¹ of three of their own in the rescue operation.

At the U.S. Defense¹² Department, spokesman Bryan Whitman said there is always concern that the use of force by the military could lead to reprisals¹³. But he said the shootings might make the pirates less inclined to attack ships. He said until now, they have been operating with relatively¹⁴ few penalties.

"I think the actions the United States military took the other night, the other day, yesterday could certainly have that affect where people are less inclined to engage in that type of activity," said Whitman.

All the same, Whitman said steps could be taken to make commercial shipping less vulnerable to piracy on the high seas. He said it is a serious international problem that should be addressed broadly and can not be solved entirely¹⁵ by military means.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

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 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

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 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 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。

13 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。