At least 11 damaged wooden boats carrying bodies drifted into seas near Japan over the past month, Japanese Coast Guard officials say.

日本海岸警卫官员称，在过去一个月，至少有11艘装载着尸体的损坏木船漂流到日本附近海域。

Unidentified wooden boat which was found in the sea off Noto Peninsula, is seen in Wajima, Japan, in this photo taken by REUTERS/Kyodo on November 29, 2015.

Most of the boats had fishing equipment, nets and signs containing words in Korean, the Associated Press reported. One boat carried a North Korean People's Army sign.

据美联社报道，大多数船只装有渔具、渔网和用朝鲜语写成的标语。一艘木船船身上用朝鲜语写着“朝鲜人民军队”。

Japan's Coast Guard spokesman, Yoshiaki Hiroto, would not confirm the boats came from North Korea, according to the Associated Press. He said the wrecked boats are apparently from the Korean Peninsula.

据美联社报道，日本海岸警卫队发言人，Yoshiaki Hiroto表示，并未证实这些船只来自朝鲜。他表示失事的船只很显然来自朝鲜半岛。

He also said the small boats the Japanese Coast Guard discovered are not typical of boats used in South Korea.

他还表示日本海岸警卫队所发现的这些小型船只，并非韩国所使用的典型船只。

What did officials find?

官员们发现了什么？

Japanese officials say dozens of damaged boats drift toward Japan every year. On November 20, officials found four bodies in two capsized, or overturned, boats. They were off the coast of Ishikawa prefecture, Japanese officials said. visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

日本官员表示，每年数十只受损的船只漂向日本。11月20日，官员们在两艘倾覆的船只中发现四具尸体。日本官员声称它们位于石川县海滨。

Two days later, seven bodies were found inside another wooden boat off the Fukui prefecture.

两天后，位于福井湾的另一艘木船中又发现七具尸体。

Many of the bodies are in such bad shape that it has been impossible to determine the cause of death, Japanese officials said. They said some of the wrecked boats were used for fishing, and that some fishermen may have been trying to defect to Japan.

日本官员表示，许多尸体都已严重腐烂，因此无法确定死因。他们还表示一些失事船只被用于捕鱼，一些渔民可能试图叛逃到日本。

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

我是凯利吉恩·凯利。

VOA News reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section or share your views onour Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

origin– n. the point or place where something begins or is created

decomposed– adj. to cause something (such as dead plants and the bodies of dead animals) to be slowly destroyed and broken down by natural processes

drifted– v. a slow and gradual movement or change from one place, condition, etc., to another

prefecture– n. any one of the areas into which some countries (such as Japan and France) are divided for local government

defect– v. to leave a country, political party, organization, etc., and go to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy

At least 11 damaged wooden boats carrying bodies drifted into seas near Japan over the past month, Japanese Coast Guard officials say.

Most of the boats had fishing equipment, nets and signs containing words in Korean, the Associated Press reported. One boat carried a North Korean People's Army sign.

Japan's Coast Guard spokesman, Yoshiaki Hiroto, would not confirm the boats came from North Korea, according to the Associated Press. He said the wrecked boats are apparently from the Korean Peninsula.

He also said the small boats the Japanese Coast Guard discovered are not typical of boats used in South Korea.

What did officials find?

Japanese officials say dozens of damaged boats drift toward Japan every year. On November 20, officials found four bodies in two capsized, or overturned, boats. They were off the coast of Ishikawa prefecture, Japanese officials said. visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

Two days later, seven bodies were found inside another wooden boat off the Fukui prefecture.

Many of the bodies are in such bad shape that it has been impossible to determine the cause of death, Japanese officials said. They said some of the wrecked boats were used for fishing, and that some fishermen may have been trying to defect to Japan.

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

VOA News reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section or share your views onour Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

origin– n. the point or place where something begins or is created

decomposed– adj. to cause something (such as dead plants and the bodies of dead animals) to be slowly destroyed and broken down by natural processes

drifted– v. a slow and gradual movement or change from one place, condition, etc., to another

prefecture– n. any one of the areas into which some countries (such as Japan and France) are divided for local government

defect– v. to leave a country, political party, organization, etc., and go to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy