Reading skill 9

B10m in elephant tusks seized at airport

Sixty-nine elephant tusks and four smaller pieces of ivory, worth 10 million baht and smuggled from Mozambique, have been seized at Suvarnabhumi airport.

The Customs Department said yesterday the tusks were found on Wednesday at the airport in two boxes bound for Laos, although officials believe the tusks were due to be reimported to Thailand. They were declared as personal goods.

‘‘They declared that the shipment was destined for Laos to fool customs authorities but the tusks were to be returned to Thailand over the border,’’ customs chief Prasong Poonthanes told local television news.

The ivory weighed 435 kilogrammes. 

No arrests have been made, another official said, as nobody had come forward to claim the shipment, which is illegal under international laws that ban the trafficking of endangered species and their products.

Wildlife experts say Thailand is a commonly used transit point for the illegal trafficking of animal parts and also a centre for the carving of ivory. AFP
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vocabulary

 

vocabulary	Part of speech / pronunciation	Meaning
tusk	Noun      / tʌsk/	either of the two long pointed teeth which stick out from the mouth of some animals such as elephants งาช้าง Example: a tusk tenon joint   <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
ivory	noun (plural ivories)  /ˈʌɪv(ə)ri/	the yellowish-white bone that an elephant’s tusks are made of สีงาช้าง Example: a dagger with an ivory handle
seize	verb  /siːz/	to take something using official power ยึด Example: she jumped up and seized his arm
cargo	noun (plural cargoes or cargos)  /ˈkɑːgəʊ/	– things that are being sent by ship, plane, train or truck  สินค้าที่บรรทุกและจัดส่งโดยเรือ เครื่องบินหรือรถไฟ Example: a cargo of oil
smuggle  <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->	verb  /ˈsmʌg(ə)l/	to take things or people to or from a place secretly and often illegally  ลักลอบนำเข้า Example: he’s been smuggling cigarettes from Gibraltar into Spain
bound for	adjective  /baʊnd/	going to มุ่งหน้าไป Example: an express train bound for Edinburgh
import	verb /ɪmˈpɔːt, ˈɪm-/	to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า Example: upermarkets may no longer import cheap jeans from Bulgaria
declare	verb  /dɪˈklɛː/	to tell customs officers (= at the border of a country) the kind of goods you are carrying แจ้ง, เปิดเผย Example: I was under too much pressure,’ he declared
destined	adjective /ˈdɛstɪnd/	on the way to มุ่งหน้าไปทาง Example: they were destined to become diplomats
fool		–– to trick somebody into believing something that is not true หลอกลวง, ลวงให้เข้าใจผิด Example:
authorities		people who have the power to make decisions or enforce the law เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ Example:
border		– the official line separating two areas, regions or countries  เขตแดน อาณาเขต Example: <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
arrest		(of the police) ฟารืเ someone to a police station because they are believed to have committed a crime การจับกุม <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
claim		to demand or ask for something because you believe it is your legal right to own or to have it  อ้างสิทธิ, ยืนยัน Example: <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
illegal		against the law  ผิดกฎหมาย Example:
ban		to say officially that people must not do, sell or use something การประกาศห้าม  Example:
trafficking		dealing in illegal goods, like drugs, weapons or in illegally moving humans from one place to another การค้าสิ่งที่ผิดกฎหมาย Example:
endangered species		a type of animal or plant that may soon become extinct สัตว์ป่าหรือสิ่งมีชีวิตที่ใกล้จะสูญพันธุ์ Example:
wildlife		animals, birds, insects, etc. that are wild and live in a natural environment สัตว์ป่า Example:
transit		the act of moving something from one place to another  การส่งผ่าน <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
carve		to cut from something like stone, wood, or in this case, ivory   แกะสลัก Example:

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