2007年VOA标准英语-British Police Defuse Bomb Found in Central Lon

By Tom Rivers
London
29 June 2007

forensic1 officer leaves a blue operations tent that police placed over a vehicle which contains a suspected bomb in the Haymarket area near Piccadilly Circus in central London, 29 June 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070704/1426150.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

A British police forensic officer leaves a blue operations tent that police placed over a vehicle which contains a suspected bomb in the Haymarket area near Piccadilly Circus in central London, 29 June 2007

British police have defused a bomb found in an abandoned car parked in London's busy theater district. The device was discovered early Friday, just hours after Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, announced his cabinet. For VOA, Tom Rivers has details.

Witnesses report seeing a man driving erratically² down a street near London's famous Piccadilly Circus intersection³. They say the driver then ploughed into garbage cans outside an American Express foreign exchange office and fled into the night.

At least one gas cylinder⁴ was found inside the vehicle and the bomb squad⁵ was called in to examine the car.

In a statement, London police said officers discovered what they called "a potentially viable⁶ explosive device" that they then defused.

Anti-terrorist and forensic teams then closely examined the vehicle before it was taken away from the scene.

Early morning traffic was severely⁷ disrupted in parts of west London as the investigators⁸ gathered evidence from the cordoned-off area.

On Friday, new Prime Minister Gordon Brown chaired an emergency security meeting where the latest details were discussed.

The first duty of a government is the security of the people and as the police and security services have said on so many occasions, we face a serious and continued security threat to our country," he said. "We should allow the police to investigate this incident and then report to us. But this incident does recall the need for us to be vigilant⁹ at all times and the public to be alert at any potential incidents.

 

Next week, Britain marks the second anniversary of July 7, 2005 London transit¹⁰ bombings, in which four Muslim suicide bombers¹¹ set off explosions that killed 52 bus and subway passengers, as well as themselves.

1 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

2 erratically   

adv.不规律地，不定地

参考例句：

• Police stopped him for driving erratically. 警察因其驾驶不循规则而把他拦下了。 来自辞典例句
• Magnetitite-bearing plugs are found erratically from the base of the Critical Zone. 含磁铁岩的岩栓不规则地分布于关键带的基底以上。 来自辞典例句

3 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

4 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

5 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。

6 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

10 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

11 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》