Sailing through the Strait of Hormuz has become one of the riskiest jobs in shipping. Attacks on cargo ships in and around the strait have continued, and owners now have to pay large risk premiums to keep their crews. The result is a pay jump that the industry has rarely seen.
The numbers are striking. A tanker captain working the route can now earn up to 100,000 dollars a month, plus a bonus of 50,000 dollars for each voyage. Ordinary crew members are paid four to six times their normal wage. In normal times a captain earns about 15,000 dollars a month, while an ordinary sailor takes home roughly 1,500 dollars.
The conflict in the Gulf region has also raised worries about energy supplies. The International Energy Agency says its member governments have agreed to speed up the release of oil reserves, which could put about 100 million more barrels on the market. France has promised to free 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic stocks in the next three months. The IMF has warned that high energy prices could last for some time even if the fighting ends soon.
For the sailors themselves, the choice is rarely simple. The extra money can change a family’s finances for years, yet no amount of pay makes the water safer. Seafarers’ unions have called for stronger protection and clearer rules, arguing that the risk should be reduced by governments and fleets, not simply priced.
Economists would read the pay jump as a market signal. When a job becomes dangerous, wages rise until enough people are willing to do it. But a wage that rises only because the danger rises is a warning rather than a success story. For world trade, the real fix is safe passage, not a bigger bonus.
Words to know:
- strait (海峡)
- premium (补贴；溢价)
- voyage (航行；出航)
- crew (全体船员)
- wage (工资)
- reserve (储备)
- release (释放)
- signal (信号)
长难句拆解 · up to 与 rather than
例句：A tanker captain working the route can now earn up to 100,000 dollars a month, plus a bonus of 50,000 dollars for each voyage.
主干是 A tanker captain can now earn up to 100,000 dollars a month。working the route 是现在分词短语作后置定语，限定是哪一位船长，等于 who works the route。up to 表示「最高可达」，是数字类文章里的高频表达，它给出的是上限而不是确数，答题时若把 up to 100,000 说成 exactly 100,000，就犯了「把上限当确数」的错。plus 在这里不是「加」，而是「另外还有」，引出第二笔收入。
直译：跑这条航线的油轮船长，月薪最高可以达到 10 万美元，每次出航还能额外拿到 5 万美元奖金。
再看一句：But a wage that rises only because the danger rises is a warning rather than a success story.
主语是 a wage，后面跟一个 that 引导的定语从句 that rises only because the danger rises，从句内部又套了一个 because 引导的原因状语从句，说明工资上涨的原因。only 的位置很关键：它限定的是 because 引导的这层原因，意思是「仅仅因为危险增加而涨」，而不是「也因危险增加而涨」。句尾的 rather than 表示「而不是」，用来否定后者、肯定前者，是议论文结尾表明立场的高频结构。
直译：但一份只是因为危险才上涨的工资，是警示而不是捷报。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
下面 7 组替换都出自本文，右侧是对应的替换说法，点开核对。
- one of the riskiest jobs in shipping → among the most dangerous jobs at sea（风险最高工作的同义改写）
- pay large risk premiums → pay high amounts of extra risk money（风险补贴的替换表达）
- up to 100,000 dollars a month → as much as 100,000 dollars a month（最高可达的两种说法）
- four to six times their normal wage → four to six times what they usually earn（倍数关系的改写）
- takes home roughly 1,500 dollars → brings home about 1,500 dollars（到手收入的同义表达）
- speed up the release of oil reserves → move faster in freeing up oil stocks（加快释放储备的替换）
- rises only because the danger rises → goes up simply because the risk goes up（只因危险而上涨的改写）
阅读自测 · 3 题
三道题分别对应细节、数字与结论，先不看答案。
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- 判断正误（T / F / NG）：An ordinary crew member on the Hormuz route can earn up to 100,000 dollars a month.
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- 简答：How many barrels of diesel has France promised to release from its strategic stocks?
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- 判断正误（T / F / NG）：The passage says higher pay is the real solution to the problem.
参考答案与解析
每题给出答案与判断依据，注意最后提到的干扰项套路。
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- F（错误）。第二段说 A tanker captain working the route can now earn up to 100,000 dollars a month，能拿到 10 万美元月薪的是油轮船长，不是普通船员；普通船员是 four to six times their normal wage。题干把两类人的收入对调，属「张冠李戴」。
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- Ten million barrels. 依据在第三段。原文写 France has promised to free 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic stocks in the next three months，问的是数量与品种，答案就是 1000 万桶柴油。只答 barrels 或只答 diesel 都不完整，注意题目问的是「多少桶」。
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- F（错误）。末段明确指出 the real fix is safe passage, not a bigger bonus，作者把涨薪看作警示而非解决办法。题干把作者的结论整个颠倒过来，属典型的「反调正写」。
中文译文
航行通过霍尔木兹海峡，已经成为航运业风险最高的工作之一。针对货轮的袭击在海峡及周边地区持续不断，船东如今不得不支付高额风险补贴，才能把船员留在船上。结果是出现了一轮这个行业罕见的薪酬上涨。
数字相当惊人。跑这条航线的油轮船长，月薪最高可以达到 10 万美元，每次出航还能额外拿到 5 万美元奖金。普通船员的报酬也达到了正常水平的四到六倍。而在正常情况下，船长月薪约为 1.5 万美元，普通船员每月到手大约只有 1500 美元。
海湾地区的冲突也引发了对能源供应的担忧。国际能源署表示，其成员国政府已同意加快落实石油储备释放计划，预计还可向市场投放约 1 亿桶石油。法国承诺在未来三个月内释放 1000 万桶柴油战略储备，以平抑燃油价格。国际货币基金组织则警告，即便战事很快结束，高能源价格也可能持续一段时间。
对船员自己来说，这个选择从来都不简单。多出来的钱可以在几年里改变一个家庭的经济状况，可再高的薪水也不会让这片海域变得更安全。海员工会呼吁加强保护、明确规则，他们认为风险应当由政府和船队来降低，而不是简单地用钱来计价。
在经济学家看来，这轮涨薪是一个市场信号：当一份工作变得危险，工资就会上涨，直到有足够多的人愿意去做。但一份只是因为危险才上涨的工资，是警示而不是捷报。对世界贸易来说，真正的解决办法是安全的航道，而不是更厚的奖金。