VOA标准英语2010年-Britain's Chief Spy in First Public Ad

The head of Britain's Secret Service, John Sawers, said torture is "abhorrent¹" and Britain has nothing to do with it.

It was the first time a sitting head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service - known as MI6 - has made a public speech.

John Sawers took the opportunity to outline his agency's attitude to torture. "Torture is illegal and abhorrent under any circumstances, and we have nothing whatsoever² to do with it."

He said MI6 has a duty to ensure partner services respect human rights. He said, though, doing so is "not always straightforward³" when innocent lives are at risk.

Earlier this year, the British government ordered an inquiry⁴ into allegations that British intelligence agencies were complicit in torture of terror suspects overseas.

In relation to Iran, Sawers said an intelligence-led approach is needed to block the country from developing nuclear weapons.

"Stopping nuclear proliferation cant⁵ be addressed purely⁶ by conventional diplomacy," said Sawers. "We need intelligence-led operations to make it more difficult for countries like Iran to develop nuclear weapons."

Iran denies it is developing a nuclear bomb.

Tim Cooke-Hurle is from the Britain-based human-rights group Reprieve⁷. He said allegations that MI6 were complicit in torture have hurt the agency's reputation in recent years. Giving the agency a public face, he said, is in part a move to gain popular support. "I think there is a genuine intention on the part of the security services to clean up their act and to do this they do have to put people in the public light."

Cooke-Hurle also said that although MI6 does not itself carry out torture, the agency's hands are not necessarily clean. "It all happens in this awful gray zone where we know that allies, and by this I would include the United States under the (George) Bush administration, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and so on, do practice torture and the degree to which we cooperate with those groups can amount to collusion in torture in certain circumstances."

MI6 has been in operation for 100 years, but until 1994 the government refused to admit the organization existed.
 

1 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

2 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

3 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

6 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

7 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。