voa标准英语2008-Mumbai Terrorists Aided by Security Lapses, Tech

In the aftermath of the terror attacks, many in Mumbai are asking how a group of 10 to 15 assailants were able to carry out their brazen¹ attack that included some of the city's most guarded landmarks². Raymond Thibodeaux has this from Mumbai.

The first chance to warn police of suspicious activity came at this boat launch known as Fisherman's Colony, less than a mile from the devastated³ Oberoi Trident hotel.

At about 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, a fisherman in this poor village said he saw strangers come ashore⁴ - four in an inflatable boat and two more in a speedboat. He spoke⁵ on condition of anonymity⁶, fearing reprisals⁷.
　

A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India, 26 Nov 2008

He said the six men looked young and athletic⁸. He said they had backpacks and duffel bags slung⁹ around their shoulders. He said one of the fisherman, instantly suspicious, asked them what they were doing, one of them turned around, saying: "Do not bother me. I am in a very bad mood."

He said the six men sped away headed north in two taxis.

About a half-hour later, two gunmen opened-fire at the city's busy main railway station, roughly a 20-minute drive in normal traffic from Fisherman's Colony.

Photographer Sebastian D'Souza, who works for the Mumbai Mirror directly across the street from the main railway station, ran to the station and snapped several photographs of the attackers, among the most iconic images of the terror attacks.

He said the assailants could have been stopped, but police and security guards at the station were reluctant to engage them. He said they were scared like everybody else, seeing that they were massively outgunned.

"They were not in a hurry, they were walking very coolly, firing from the hip¹⁰. If they saw somebody they just fired. Someone, at least 10 guys even with their revolvers or whatever they had, should have engaged them in a battle. We could have got them," he said.
　

An Indian soldier takes cover as the Taj Mahal hotel burns during gun battle between Indian military and militants11 inside the hotel in Mumbai

He said one of the officers fired at the attackers and their response was swift: a hailstorm of bullets that killed a police officer and bookseller trying to lower the metal shutters¹² of his stall.

In carrying out their attacks throughout Mumbai, the assailants were aided by security lapses¹³ and technology, analysts¹⁵ said. Their operation seemed to consist of diversionary targets to disperse¹⁶ police while they escaped to their primary targets.

Fahrang Jehari, the owner of the Leopold Café, a popular backpacker hangout where seven people were killed, said the café likely was not the attackers' primary target.

"It was just an opportunity to divert the attention of the cops. That is what I feel," he said. "If they wanted this to be a main target, they would have been here for a longer time and they would have caused more casualties over here."

Less than 50 yards from Leopold Café is the Colaba police station, where at least 22 officers were on duty, according to one of the officers there who asked not to be identified.
　

Workers look for forensic17 evidence outside Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, 01 Dec 2008

As investigators¹⁸ comb through the devastation¹⁹ of the attacks, clues are starting to emerge as to how the attackers relied on advanced technology like satellite mapping and software like Voice over Internet Protocol²⁰, or VoIP, to stay in contact with their leaders without giving away their positions.

"This was technologically²¹ a pretty sophisticated group," explained Praveen Swami, a Mumbai-based terrorism analyst¹⁴. "They navigated²² their way using a state-of-the-art GPS system. Most of their rehearsals²³ to familiarize themselves with Mumbai - because the 10-man team were not familiar with the city - was done on high-resolution satellite maps, so they would have a feel for the city's streets and buildings where they were going to."

But according to the executive director for the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, Ajay Sahni, it was the delay in the response by Indian security forces that might have enabled their siege to last as long as it did.

He spoke to VOA by phone.

"The point really is how were they able to protract²⁴ their operation right up to 60 hours. That is not defined by their capabilities²⁵; it is defined by our response. What we did was cordon²⁶ off the two hotels and the Nariman House. That allowed them free movement within these areas so they went around carrying out various massacres²⁷, finding and killing²⁸ individuals for almost 60 hours since the beginning of the operation," he said.

Sahni asked where is it written that terrorists cannot use the same technology that is available to just about anyone?

He said it appears the only people out of the loop on that are the Indian security forces.

　

1 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

2 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

3 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

7 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

9 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

10 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

13 lapses   

n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He sometimes lapses from good behavior. 他有时行为失检。 来自辞典例句
• He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lapses. 他可以宽恕突然发作的歇斯底里，惊慌失措，恶劣的莫名其妙的动作，各种各样的失误。 来自辞典例句

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

17 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。

18 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》

19 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

21 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

22 navigated   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 protract   

v.延长，拖长

参考例句：

• The inspector informed us that he was to protract his stay for some days.督察通知我们他将在此多呆几天。
• Let's not protract the debate any further.我们不要再继续争论下去了。

25 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

26 cordon   

n.警戒线，哨兵线

参考例句：

• Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
• There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。

27 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

28 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。