新西兰英语 306 Should the police be armed?

　　Yesterday two police officers were shot and injured in Christchurch. A police dog was shot dead. The police officers did not have guns because they did not expect trouble. They were looking for a missing mental health patient and went to a house next door to ask if anyone had seen the man. At that house, they smelt¹ cannabis. When they wanted to search the house, someone shot them and the dog. Later, the armed offenders² police squad³ used a taser to arrest a man at that house. A taser gun gives an electric shock which is quite painful.
Usually police in New Zealand do not carry guns. Sometimes they have guns locked in the car but they first have to get permission to use the guns. We have special armed offenders police squads⁴ in the cities and they are trained to use guns.
Now some people think our police should carry guns at all times. The chief of police does not think this is a good idea. He said that if the police were armed, criminals would also be armed.
Questions
Do police carry guns in your country?
Do you think New Zealand police should be armed?
In what way is a police dog different from a family dog?

1 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

2 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。

3 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。

4 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句