VOA英语2010年-British Police Arrest 12 Terror Suspects

British police say they have arrested 12 men suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in Britain. The men were taken from different areas around the country as a result of counter-terrorism intelligence work. The country remains¹ on high alert.

Police picked up the men in early morning raids in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent in central England, Cardiff in Wales; and, in the capital, London. The men are between the ages of 17 and 24.

John Yates, in charge of terrorism operations for London's Metropolitan² police, said, "They were all arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 on the suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. They are currently in custody³ at three separate police stations across the country where they will be interviewed over the coming days."

Yates would not give details, but praised the work of the country's counter-terrorism network in making the arrests. "With the current threat level in the U.K. at severe, and with the information we had, I believe that today's arrests were absolutely necessary in order to keep the public safe."

Analyst⁴ Michael Clarke is the head of the London security research group the Royal United Services Institute. "The body language of the police has been pretty positive. They think they are on to something. The sort of statements they have made, their demeanor⁵, their attitude, they think they have blown something that is really significant. We will see."

Clarke said the threat was not necessarily imminent⁶, but potentially very serious. "The police are very clear that this is the edge of quite a big plot. They have said that this is a large intelligence-led operation, which implies that they have been watching these 12 people for quite a long time, they have decided⁷ to move in now. They have obviously decided to move in relatively⁸ early. Whatever the plot is, it is not due to come to fruition tomorrow."

He said there is a positive note to the arrests. "The good news, of course, is that if 12 people are involved, it is that much easier for the security services to get some clues and leads on it," said Clarke. "The more people involved, the bigger the conspiracy⁹, the more evidence there is."

Yates called for the public to be vigilant¹⁰ and notify police if they see anything suspicious. "The threat from terrorism in the U.K. remains real and serious. The threat level remains at severe, which means an attack is highly likely."

1 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。

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 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。

5 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

10 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。