Pirates Attack Ships – level 3
02-02-2021 07:00
Piracy in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea has been on the rise. Recently, pirates have killed one sailor and kidnapped 15 people from a Turkish container ship.
Pirates come from Nigeria, from a region that produces the majority of the country’s petroleum; however, the area is underdeveloped, heavily polluted, and it has high unemployment. Over the last five years, Nigeria’s gone through two recessions due to falling oil prices, and illegal activities such as oil theft and piracy are becoming attractive for people who are desperate for money.
River creeks provide an escape route and a place to hide a kidnapped crew, and pirates know that companies will pay large sums in ransom. During 2020, pirates in the gulf seized 130 sailors in 22 separate incidents. The Gulf of Guinea borders 20 countries and it is a key route for everything from soda to steel; therefore, countries in the region try to coordinate efforts to stop the piracy.
Difficult words: piracy (when pirates attack and rob ships at sea), petroleum (oil that is found under the surface of the Earth or under the seabed), ransom (money that is demanded or paid for the release of someone who had been kidnapped).
You can watch the video news lower on this page.
What do you think about this news?
LEARN 3000 WORDS with NEWS IN LEVELS
News in Levels is designed to teach you 3000 words in English. Please follow the instructions
below.
How to improve your English with News in Levels:
![](https://www.newsinlevels.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Test.jpg)
Test
- Do the test at Test Languages.
- Go to your level. Go to Level 1 if you know 1-1000 words. Go to Level 2 if you know 1000-2000 words. Go to Level 3 if you know 2000-3000 words.
![](https://www.newsinlevels.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Reading.png)
Reading
- Read two news articles every day.
- Read the news articles from the day before and check if you remember all new words.
![](https://www.newsinlevels.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Listening.png)
Listening
- Listen to the news from today and read the text at the same time.
- Listen to the news from today without reading the text.
![](https://www.newsinlevels.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Writing.png)
Writing
- Answer the question under today’s news and write the answer in the comments.
![](https://www.newsinlevels.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Speaking.png)
Speaking
- Choose one person from the Skype section.
- Talk with this person. You can answer questions from Speak in Levels.
Stock images by Depositphotos