voa标准英语2008-Indian Home Minister Admits to 'Lapses' in Mumba

India's new home minister, appointed in the wake of the Mumbai terror siege, is admitting security failures in preventing the attack and says there must be a fundamental change in attitude in the country to effectively fight terrorism.

Just days after exchanging his finance portfolio¹ for that of home minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram is acknowledging failures in preventing the Mumbai terror attack.

"I take note of your anguish² and your legitimate³ complaint about the lapses⁴," he said. "We will address the causes that led to the lapses"

Chidambaram also told reporters in Mumbai a change in thinking is needed in the country.

"September 11th changed the attitude of all the people of the United States," he said. "What happened in Mumbai must be the trigger for a fundamental change in our attitude towards terrorism and combating terrorism."
　

Indian police officers stand guard as people walk in Calcutta, India, 05 Dec 2008

As to how the investigation⁵ is progressing, the minister now tasked with domestic security is being tight-lipped. He says there will be no details released by him until the investigation is completed and he can report it to a session of parliament.

Chidambaram replaced Shivraj Patil, who said he resigned to take "moral responsibility" for the attack.

The siege of Mumbai followed a string of terrorist bombings in Indian cities this year.

Indian media Friday are quoting anonymous⁶ official sources as saying a direct connection has been established between the attackers from the Laskhar-e-Taiba terrorist outfit⁷ and Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, known as the ISI.

Pakistan denies any official involvement blaming the attack on "non state actors" and insists India provide credible⁸ evidence against those it is accusing.

Senior terrorism analyst⁹ Jeremy Binnie of Jane's Information Group sees a possible military connection to the attackers who skillfully used sophisticated weapons to kill more than 160 civilians¹⁰ and members of security forces.

"We certainly think it's possible that some serving soldiers or former soldiers knew about this attack or were involved in the training," he said. "What we don't think, at this stage, is that this goes up the military chain of command. What will be a matter of speculation¹¹ for a long time to come is maybe the extent of which how high up in the ISI someone knew about this"

The Mumbai attack came as New Delhi and Islamabad were trying to get their peace process back on track. Now relations are at their worst point since 2001, when the nuclear-armed neighbors came to the brink¹² of war following an attack on India's parliament, also blamed on Laskhar-e-Taiba.

1 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

2 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

3 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

4 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

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

7 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

8 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

9 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。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。