VOA标准英语2010年-Somali Pirates Take Recently Captured

On Monday, The European Union Naval¹ Force Somalia announced  it had rescued off the Somali coast the captain of a yacht that had been hijacked² by pirates. The EU's anti-piracy³ force said the skipper was rescued after fleeing captivity⁴ upon landing at the Somali coast. The EUNAVFOR release contradicts earlier reports that the man had been killed by his captors while attempting to flee. Though it is unclear whether or not the man had been injured in the exchange, the Coordinator⁵ of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, Andrew Mwangura, said the captain likely was alive and en route to Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast. At least two other crewmembers were kidnapped by the pirates, but according to EU Naval Forces, their location was unknown. Reports now indicate the hostages have been taken to the town of Barawe, in southern Somalia. According to Mwangura, being held in Barawe could complicate⁶ their release.
"If it is true that is a very dangerous place," said Mwangura. "Barawe is under control of Islamic groups. If it's not in good cooperation with the pirates, maybe the group will demand to take over the hostages and the pirates will not let go; so there will be fighting between them. The Islamic group will take them for political gains while the pirates are taking them for commercial gains."Barawe is controlled by al-Qaida linked group al Shabab, which is currently battling the government in Mogadishu to establish an Islamic state in Somalia. The recent kidnapping comes as ransoms⁸ for pirated ships reach record levels in East Africa. The South Korean Supertanker Samho Dream, along with 24 crewmembers, was released Saturday after being held in Somalia for nearly seven months. The boat was released after the hijackers received a record payment of $9.5 million.
Analyst⁹ worry the rise of ransom⁷ prices is spurring more piracy in the Indian Ocean, and could complicate negotiations¹⁰. According to Mwangura, ships are now being held longer to extract the maximum payment from their owners. "As it is, the ship is held captive for a period of not more than six weeks but now, they go for more than four months," said Mwangura. "And the rate is not less than $3 million for a big ship. And now, yesterday, they took $9.5 million, meaning that now the bargaining power is high, and they are demanding more money."Mwangura said contact with the yacht hijackers likely would be established through relatives of their hostages' families. The hostages, who were hijacked off the coast of Seychelles, are reported to be South African.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

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 ransoms   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
• Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。

9 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。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。