VOA标准英语2010年-Greater Vigilance Urged In Wake Of For

An internal Defense¹ Department probe of last November's deadly shooting spree at Ford² Hood³, Texas, urges military commanders to do a better job of looking for potential threats within their own ranks.  Thirteen people died and more than 30 were wounded last November when U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan allegedly opened fire on a group of fellow soldiers. 

Major Hasan is currently awaiting trial in the military justice system and faces 13 specifications⁴ or counts of premeditated murder.

The Defense Department report released Friday outlines a number of shortcomings in how the Defense Department is able to identify and deal with external influences on members of the military that could lead to them becoming internal threats.

The report also noted⁵ that several officers failed to use what it called appropriate judgment⁶ and standards in monitoring Hasan during his military career, and it recommends their actions be investigated.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that the new report raises serious questions about the department's ability to handle similar incidents in the future.

Gates said commanders have a particular responsibility to monitor the men and women serving under them and that they should be on the lookout⁷ for any behavioral signs that someone may become a threat. "I would ask all commanders and leaders at every level to make an effort to look beyond their day to day tasks and be attuned⁸ to personnel who may be at risk or pose a danger.  One of the core functions of leadership is assessing the performance and fitness of people honestly and openly.  Failure to do so or kicking the problem to the next unit or the next installation may lead to damaging, if not devastating⁹, consequences," he said.

The report says there were discrepancies¹⁰ between Major Hasan's actual job performance and his personnel records, and Secretary Gates said it was important that commanders do a better job in the future of noting behavioral characteristics that could signify a problem.

The review did not consider whether the Fort Hood attack was an act of terrorism.  Nor did it cover allegations that Hasan was in contact with a radical¹¹ Islamic cleric in Yemen.  Those issues are part of the criminal case now pending¹² against Hasan in the military justice system.

However, Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint¹³ Chiefs of Staff, did tell reporters that he has been increasingly concerned about soldiers falling prey¹⁴ to radical religious influences. "I think the issue of self-radicalization is one that we have really got to focus on because there is clearly more and more of that going on, and how much of it we have in the military is something that we ought to really understand," he said.

The investigation¹⁵ was led by former Army Secretary Togo West and retired¹⁶ Admiral Vernon Clark.

West said the report's findings suggest the Defense Department needs to adapt to the changing nature of threats in the 21st Century. "Yes, it is the role of our forces to protect the nation from external threats.  But our emerging concern is to protect the force against the internal threat.  We need to make sure we understand the forces that cause an individual to radicalize, to commit acts of violence and thereby¹⁷ to cause an internal vulnerability within our forces," he said.

The report found that the emergency response on base to the Fort Hood shootings was generally impressive, but that there was still room for improvement.

Togo West said the entire incident lasted about seven to eight minutes, from the first shot to the last, and he credited the quick response of military police in helping¹⁸ to prevent more bloodshed.

Secretary Gates expects a number of changes recommended by the report to be implemented¹⁹ in the next few months.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

4 specifications   

n.规格；载明；详述；（产品等的）说明书；说明书( specification的名词复数 )；详细的计划书；载明；详述

参考例句：

• Our work must answer the specifications laid down. 我们的工作应符合所定的规范。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This sketch does not conform with the specifications. 图文不符。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

8 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

12 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

15 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。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句