新西兰英语 143 Policemen shot in Napier

　　Most New Zealanders will know about this tragedy which happened in Napier, a city on the East Coast of the North Island. It started on Thursday morning when three police officers arrived at a house to search for cannabis plants. Cannabis is a drug which is also called marijuana. The man who lived in the house arrived home after walking his dog to find the police officers at his house. The police officers were not armed and they did not wear bullet-proof jackets. They did not expect trouble. However, the man went inside and started shooting. One policeman is dead, two others are seriously injured and a neighbour who tried to take the gun away from the man is also seriously hurt in hospital.
The police Armed Offenders¹ Squad² were called. People who lived in the area were not allowed to go home and those who were already at home, were not allowed to leave. All day Friday and part of Saturday, police surrounded the house. The man continued to fire shots but the shots stopped some time on Saturday morning. Finally, police managed to enter the house and they found his body in a bedroom. They were worried that the man could have set wires to explosives³ if they entered the house so they were very careful. They found weapons, bullets⁴ and explosives in the house. The man did not have a gun licence⁵.
Shootings like this are very unusual in New Zealand and police are not usually armed. This police officer who was shot dead is the 29th police officer killed while on duty since 1890.

1 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

2 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

3 explosives   

n.爆炸物，炸药( explosive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They caved in the roof of the underground passage with powerful explosives. 他们用强大的炸药把地下通道的顶部炸塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slightest spark can set off the explosives stored here. 一点点火星就能够使储存这里的火药爆炸。 来自《用法词典》

4 bullets   

n.弹药；军火

参考例句：

• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。
• The bullets and cannon-balls were flying in all directions. 子弹和炮弹到处乱飞。

5 licence   

n.证书；许可证，执照；v.许可；批准

参考例句：

• The restaurant applied for a licence to sell wine.那家餐厅申请售酒许可证。
• He hadn't paid his television licence fee.他尚未缴纳电视机使用许可费。