英国新闻听力 危险的海洋世界

Somali Pirates Take Hostages 索马里海盗扣押人质

You might have been forgiven for thinking that piracy¹ on the high seas was the stuff of Hollywood movies or historical novels, but Somali pirates have made 92 attacks this year, resulting in 36 successful hijackings.

Their most audacious and significant attack to date came on Saturday with the capture of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star and its crew of 25 (including two Britons) which was taken 450 nautical³ miles (830km) off the coast of Kenya.

The move was described as "unprecedented⁴" by the US Navy due to the size of the vessel⁵ and the distance of the attack from the pirates’ usual theatre of operations; the Sirius Star is the biggest ship taken by pirates so far, weighing three times more than an American aircraft carrier and capable of carrying 2m barrels of oil, valued at around $100m (683m Yuan).

The pirates, who are often armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, usually hijack² ships in the Gulf⁶ of Aden using powerful speedboats to approach merchant ships which they board using grappling hooks and rope ladders.

Once the crew has been taken hostage, the pirates direct the ship to a port in Somalia where the crew and boat are held until a ransom⁷ is paid. There are currently 14 ships and 268 crew being held in pirate-friendly Somali ports.

Given that senior UN officials estimate that the pirates earn more than $100m (683m Yuan) a year from ransom payments made by ship owners, many ask why more military interventions⁸ don’t take place.

NATO warships⁹ are in the area but US Navy officials have told the BBC they can "not be everywhere". That said, an Indian Navy frigate¹⁰ attacked and sank a Somali pirate 'mother ship' on Wednesday morning after coming under fire.

Most hijackings, however, do end peacefully although it can be a lengthy¹¹ process. On Wednesday the Hong Kong ship MV Great Creation and its crew of 25 Chinese and one Sri Lankan were released after two months of captivity¹².

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 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。

3 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 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。