加勒比海盜捲土重來，但現實比電影殘酷得多……

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一家名為「無海盜大洋」的非營利組織開展的研究指出，去年加勒比海盜活動數量相比以往激增163%。據統計，大多數海盜都來自委內瑞拉。

目前，委內瑞拉深陷政治動蕩、經濟蕭條和社會失序三重危機，很多生計無依的人為養家糊口，不得不鋌而走險從事海盜活動。

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壹

加勒比地區海盜活動日益猖獗

The Caribbean sea and coast of Latin America have recently seen a dramatic rise inpiracy, as economicwoesand corrupt officials plague Venezuela and other countries in the region.

由於委內瑞拉與加勒比海和拉丁美洲沿海地區其他國家紛紛陷入經濟萎靡與官員腐敗困境，近期該區域海盜活動顯著增加。

While the region has seen varioustraffickersuse ports in Trinidad to move drugs from Colombia and Venezuela to North America in the past, the new pirates areratcheting upthe violence to levels that haven』t been seen by mariners in the region since the time of Blackbeard.

儘管毒販們利用特立尼達港口將毒品從哥倫比亞和委內瑞拉轉移到北美的活動在這裡過去就屢見不鮮，新海盜們如今正將暴亂形勢抬升至自黑鬍子時代以來該地區水手們所見的最高水平。

①piracy["pa?r?s?] n. 盜版行為；海上搶劫；非法複製

例句：You did not miss out on the "official" discussion of piracy because it"s not in the legal edition either. 你並未錯過有關盜版問題的「官方」討論，因為合法版本也沒有這方面的內容。

②woe[w??] n. 災難；悲哀；苦惱 int.〔表示悲傷、不幸、懊悔〕咳! 哎!呀!

例句：Although it shares something of Ireland"s banking woes and of Greece"s wretched competitiveness, it is in less trouble than either. 雖然愛爾蘭的銀行業困境和希臘的疲軟競爭力對其造成影響，但西班牙的狀況依舊好於兩國。

③trafficker["tr?f?k?] n. 奸商；出賣(秘密等)的人

例句：A fugitive drug trafficker was captured after two decades on the run . 一名毒販在逃亡二十年後被捉拿歸案了。

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Political and economic crises are exploding from Venezuela to Nicaragua to Haiti, sparkinganarchyand massive criminality. As the rule of law breaks down, certain spots in the Caribbean, experts say, are becoming more dangerous than they』ve been in years.

政治和經濟危機接連席捲了委內瑞拉、尼加拉瓜與海地，同時招致了無政府混亂與大規模犯罪。隨著法治漸將瓦解，專家稱加勒比地區某些區域將比過去數年危險得多。

An economic crisis in the South American countries has sent inflation soaring, making food and medicine scarce. Malnutrition is spreading; disease isrampant; water and power grids are failing from a lack of trained staff and spare parts. Police and military are abandoning their posts as their paychecks become nearly worthless.

南美經濟危機影響下，多國通貨膨脹率飆升，從而導致食物與藥品稀缺。營養不良趨勢正在蔓延；疾病肆虐；由於缺乏專業人員與零備件，這裡的水電也斷了。警察和軍人們也因為薪水在通脹下變得一文不值而紛紛離崗。

④anarchy["?n?k?] n. 無政府狀態；混亂；無秩序

例句：Indeed, as the chair belongs to neither of you, a state of anarchy prevails. 事實上，由於椅子不屬於你們兩人當中的任何人，這已經是一種無政府狀態了。

⑤rampant["r?mp(?)nt] adj. 泛濫的；猖獗的；瘋長的

例句：Child trafficking is rampant in Southeast Asia, with hundreds of thousands of children caught up in this lucrative and shadowy business. 販賣兒童的行為在東南亞地區日益猖獗，成千上萬的孩子被這種有利可圖的暗中交易所利用。

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The conditions are compelling some Venezuelans to take desperate action.

為情勢所迫，一些委內瑞拉人不得不鋌而走險，踏上亡命之路。

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貳

專家預計犯罪形勢將繼續惡化

Earlier this year, in April, a gang of pirates attacked four Guyanese fishing boats. Only five of the 20 crew members of the fishing vessels survived. The others weredousedwith hot oil, attacked with machetes and thrown overboard.

今年年初4月，一夥海盜襲擊了四艘蓋亞那漁船。20名船員中只有5人幸免於難，其他人被海盜們澆上熱油，用砍刀砍死，隨後丟入大海。

Jeremy McDermott of Insight Crime, a nonprofit that studies organized crime in the region said, 「It』s criminal chaos, afree-for-all, along the Venezuelan coast.」

致力於研究該地區有組織犯罪的非營利機構Insight Crime的負責人Jeremy McDermott說，「委內瑞拉沿海已經被無法無天的犯罪活動搞得一團糟了。」

⑥douse[da?s] vt. 澆滅（火）；熄（燈）；往…上潑水；把…浸在液體里 n. 泡；傾注

例句：Just as there are signs of a nascent US recovery, Washington may be about to douse whatever anaemic growth prospects are on offer. 正當美國經濟初露復甦苗頭之際，華盛頓可能給本已十分低迷的經濟增長前景再澆上一盆冷水。

⑦free-for-all["fri:f?,?:l] n. 不加管制；自由放任；混戰；眾人激烈爭辯 adj. 對任何人都開放的

例句：These kids ought to feel ashamed of themselves for such a free-for-all in public. 這些孩子在大庭廣眾這樣大吵大鬧真該感到害臊。

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Although there hasn』t been much research into piracy in the Caribbean, one study from the nonprofit group Oceans Beyond Piracy found that pirate attacks in the region rose by 163 percent between 2016 and 2017.

儘管對加勒比地區海盜活動的研究甚少，非營利機構「無海盜大洋」（Oceans Beyond Piracy）的一項研究發現：從2016年至2017年，該地區海盜活動數量激增了163%。

Without a calculation of the total economic impact of piracy in 2017, it estimates that about $949,000 of goods were stolen by pirates in the region last year. Some experts fear that pirate activity and other crimes in the Caribbean Sea will increase as conditions in the socialist country continue to deteriorate.

雖然沒有對2017年海盜活動導致的總體經濟影響進行計算，該組織估計，去年該地區海盜劫掠了約949000美元價值的貨物。一些專家擔心，隨著委內瑞拉的形勢日益惡化，加勒比海的海盜活動與其他犯罪將繼續增加。

Photo credit: Getty Images

叄

海盜活動對沿岸安全造成威脅

Trafficking and piracy, locals say, have recently been expanding and becoming more violent. Five Trinidadian fishermen in the southern port of Cedros, who spokeon the condition ofanonymity, citing fear for their safety, said in interviews that they had witnessed a burst of Venezuelan boats arriving in recent months smuggling military-issue guns as well as drugs, women and exotic animals.

當地人稱，毒品走私和海盜活動近期越來越猖獗，暴力程度也有所上升。在塞德羅斯南部港口，五名不願透露姓名的特立尼達漁民表示擔憂自己的人身安全，並在採訪中透露他們目睹了近幾個月來來港靠岸的委內瑞拉船隻激增，而這些船都是用來走私軍用槍支、毒品、婦女與珍稀動物的。

⑧anonymity[?n?"n?m?t?] n. 匿名；不知姓名；無特色

例句：Anonymity is often the most effective means of telling truth to power; and sometimes the only one. 匿名往往是告訴當權者真相的最有效方式，有時則是唯一的方式。

Screenshot: washingtonpost.com

「Sometimes, those Venezuelans are willing to trade the guns and animals for food,」 said one 41-year-old fisherman.

「有時候，那些委內瑞拉人還會用槍支和動物和我們換取食物，」 一名41歲的漁民說。

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Roodal Moonilal, a lawmaker from Trinidad and Tobago』s opposition United National Congress party, told the reporter that the situation reminds him of what previously happened off the coast of eastern Africa. A few years back, there was a sharp increase in Somalian pirates terrorizing the coast of the region.

來自特立尼達和多巴哥反對黨「聯合民族大會黨」的議員Roodal Moonilal告訴記者，現在這種情形讓他不禁想起以前在東非沿海發生的事情。幾年前，索馬利亞海盜數量曾大幅增長，對該地區海岸沿線安全造成威脅。

「What we』re seeing—the piracy, the smuggling—it』s the result of Venezuela』s political and economic collapse,」 Moonilal said.

「我們現在看到的——海盜和走私活動——都是委內瑞拉政治和經濟崩盤造成的惡果，」 Moonilal說。

Photo credit: Getty Images

For those who make their livingplyingthe warm waters of the Caribbean, piracy is a new source of fear. These days, locals are fishing closer to shore, and sometimes at night, to avoid the risk of attacks.

而對於那些以加勒比海溫暖水域為生的人們而言，海盜行動則是新的恐懼之源。這些天來，當地人們不得不在近岸，有時甚至在夜晚捕魚，以避免遭受海盜襲擊。

⑨ply[pla?] vt. 定時往來；定期行駛；（嫻熟地）使用 n. 層

例句：The thing that propels many already committed people to ply the art of woo, however, is often not doubt. 推動已擁有承諾關係的人們調情的卻不是「懷疑」，而是好奇心。

片語拓展

ratchet up

逐漸升高；增加；漸進

ratchet是一種特殊齒輪，上面的齒斜向一邊，所以只能單方向轉動，一旦轉動一格就會卡住而不能退回。

ratchet up原意是指這種齒輪一格一格轉緊，如：ratchet up a notch就是「轉上一格」。ratchet up也引申為「逐步升高」。

例句： The men said they were Indian, but the attack appeared to ratchet up tensions in an already volatile region. 該男子說他們是印度人，但是此次襲擊使得本已敏感多變的地區更加劍拔弩張。

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