VOA标准英语2009年-Dozens of Migrants Missing in Attempt to R

Italian border police have rescued five African migrants who were adrift for days in a rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean¹ waters between Libya and Italy. But the few survivors² told authorities that dozens of others traveling with them died in their attempt to reach the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
　
Italian Red Cross doctors give first aid to one of five would-be immigrants at Lampedusa harbor in south of Italy, 20 Aug 2009

When they left the Libyan coast July 28 on an overcrowded 12 meter rubber dinghy the survivors told authorities the group included about 80 mainly Eritreans, some Ethiopians and a number of Somalis. When the group was rescued by a patrol boat of the Italian Border Police on Thursday, only five were left on board: one woman and four men, two of them minors³.

They were apparently⁴ the only survivors. According to what survivors told Italian Border Police, the others all perished during the crossing and were thrown overboard one by one, into the Mediterranean, a sea that has come to be known as the "cemetery⁵ of immigrants".

Italian Border Police Colonel Riccardo Rocconi said that before any search for bodies could take place it would have to be determined⁶ where the dinghy was when the others allegedly went overboard. Officials on the island of Malta said seven bodies had been sighted in Libyan waters this week but were not recovered because they were outside of Maltese waters.

After being rescued, the five migrants were immediately taken to Lampedusa's reception center, directed by Federico Miragliotta.

He says that in consideration of the long journey they have faced, the condition of the migrants is what could be expected for subjects that have been at sea for about three weeks. He said they were exhausted⁷ from their trip and have been placed under medical care.

The stories told by those who made it to the remote southern Italian island tell of desperate conditions. Titti was the only woman to have been rescued. She said two of her cousins and a brother had boarded the dinghy with her in the hope of making it to Italy, where they have other relatives.

With tears in her eyes and sun-burns on many parts of her body, she told the media of how she traveled from Eritrea to Libya where she worked in slave-like conditions for several months in a Libyan home.

Then, she said, the traffickers, who she said kept them as prisoners in some warehouses⁸, decided⁹ it was time for them to make the crossing and took them to a beach where the rubber dinghy was waiting for them with tanks of petrol.

It was immediately clear, she added, that the petrol was insufficient¹⁰ for the crossing from the Libyan coast to Lampedusa but the people smugglers allegedly dismissed the migrant's complaints.

During the day, Titti said it was like an inferno¹¹ with the sun and salt water burning their bodies. And at night, she said it was cold and there was nothing to keep them warm. She said they prayed and hoped but all the boats they saw on the way across the Mediterranean failed to come to their rescue.

Seventeen-year-old Hampton, from Eritrea, is another of the survivors. He said during their journey they came across several boats that ignored them. Then a fishing vessel¹², five days before they were rescued, saw them. He said they were exhausted and had run out of food, water, petrol and their cell phone batteries were dead.

Hampton said he could not believe the behavior of the men on board the fishing vessel. He said they spoke¹³ English and all they did was hand them a couple of bottles of water, some bread, and then disappeared.

A United Nations refugee spokeswoman in Italy, Laura Boldrini, expressed horror at the incident, saying it was the first time that a boat carrying migrants had been at sea for so long - more than three weeks. She said "it appears that what is prevailing¹⁴ is fear of providing assistance over the duty of rescuing whoever is found in conditions of difficulty at sea."

 

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

6 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。

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

8 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

11 inferno   

n.火海；地狱般的场所

参考例句：

• Rescue workers fought to get to victims inside the inferno.救援人员奋力营救大火中的受害者。
• The burning building became an inferno.燃烧着的大楼成了地狱般的地方。

12 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。

13 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。

14 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。