CNN 2010-10-08

The 2008 Mumbai attack caught everyone off guard. No suicide bombing; instead, a high-profile soft target on the waterfront of India's commercial capital. Ten gunmen landed in dinghies, stormed prestigious¹ hotels, shot bystanders in a train station, took over a Jewish community center.

Now, fears that there may be similar conspiracies² being hatched against potential targets in Europe, adding to an already-heightened security awareness³. The Eiffel Tower was evacuated⁴ twice because of terror threats in the last month. Both proved to be hoaxes⁵.

This is Liverpool Street Station and it's right in the heart of London's financial district. And it is exactly the type of soft target that was hit in Mumbai.So just how prepared are London and other European cities for this type of an attack?

Colonel Richard Kemp is a former counter-terror adviser⁶ to the British government.

How vulnerable are soft targets like Liverpool Street Station, where we're at?

They're -- they're extremely vulnerable, because it's possible to -- to move into an area like this undetected, cause mayhem and murder, killing⁷ people, shooting them, blowing them up with grenades. And it takes, obviously, the police are not going to be -- can't be everywhere ready to handle it immediately.

What the police do is to -- well, obviously, identify the central target areas and make sure they've got plans in place, make sure their tactics are appropriate for dealing⁸ as rapidly as they can with it. Otherwise, apart from what the -- the work of the police and the other security agencies, it has to be business as usual in the same way as other terror threats, we can't allow our cities just to grind to a halt. We can't allow ourselves to go into a siege mentality⁹.

Shopping areas like London's Oxford¹⁰ Street are also a concern. There are dozens of CCTV cameras in the area to alert police to suspicious activity. But security experts say the human factor is most important.

Absolutely, first and foremost, is the human factor issues，ensuring that staff are fully¹¹ trained in every up to date method of detecting, for example, hostile reconnaissance, detecting what's going on during an instant and ensuring that they're able to -- to move the public into a place of safety as quickly as possible.

The key, security experts say, is to stay alert and vigilant¹², preventing an attack before it happens and that, in turn, demands good intelligence.
 

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

5 hoaxes   

n.恶作剧，戏弄( hoax的名词复数 )v.开玩笑骗某人，戏弄某人( hoax的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The disc jockey, a young separatist named Pierre Brassard, has made his name with such hoaxes. 这位名叫彼埃尔 - 布拉萨尔的音乐节目主持人，是一名年轻的分离主义者，以制造这类骗局闻名。 来自百科语句
• This chain-letter hoaxes, has mutated over the years. 这一骗局多年来在互联网上不断发展和变异。 来自互联网

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

10 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 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。