VOA常速英语2008年-Britain Unveils Security Strategy

By Sonja Pace
London
19 March 2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled a broad security strategy of how the government, security and health services would deal with national emergencies, including terrorist attacks, outbreaks of disease and natural disasters. VOA's Sonja Pace has details from London.

Speaking to parliament, Mr. Brown unveiled a list of measures he said were vital to meet Britain's security needs in a world of changing threats.

"Once when there was instability in far away regions or countries, we had a choice to become involved or not," he said. "Today, no country is in the old sense far away from the consequences of regional instability and terrorism, and then also other risks like climate change, poverty, mass population movements and even organized crime reverberate¹ quickly around the globe."

Mr. Brown said international terrorism remains² the main threat to Britain, noting the security services are aware of 30 specific plots and are monitoring 200 different networks and 2,000 individuals.

The prime minister said strong, modern and flexible military and intelligence services remain a cornerstone of the security strategy. He also outlined plans to help fragile and potentially failing states in world trouble spots.

"Again, a lesson learned from recent conflicts ranging from Rwanda and Bosnia to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, is to create a standby international civilian³ capability⁴ so that for fragile and failing states we can act quickly and comprehensively by combining humanitarian⁵, peacekeeping, stabilization⁶, reconstruction⁷ support that these countries need," he said.

Mr. Brown announced the creation of a 1,000-member civilian rapid-reaction force of police, emergency service and humanitarian personnel to deploy⁸ quickly to assist failing states and to help rebuild countries emerging from conflict. He urged other countries to join that effort.

The strategy also calls for stronger efforts on nuclear non-proliferation and Mr. Brown said he is planning an international conference to help non-nuclear states meet their energy needs.

The opposition⁹ Conservative Party welcomed the announcement of the security strategy, but said it was too long in coming and short on specific details of action.

1 reverberate   

v.使回响，使反响

参考例句：

• The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
• Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

7 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。