VOA标准英语2010年-Commando-Style Terror Plot Targeted Eu

Sally Leivesley, a security advisor¹ based in Britain, said, "The potential for three countries - France, Germany, and Britain - to be attacked simultaneously² is actually a global shock attack and it comes out of the maturity³ in the style of attacks that Pakistan has very sadly been having for a long time, and also that the soldiers are seeing in Afghanistan."

Officials in the United States and Europe have so far refused to confirm the report on record. U.S. Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, Jr. has said that the U.S. has shared intelligence with Europe in recent days and is working with its allies to combat international terrorism.

Reports by the British media say well-armed jihadists planned to attack major European cities in a manner similar to the attack against Mumbai in 2008. In that attack, ten gunmen killed 166 people in a three-day assault on India's most populated city.

Tobias Feakin is Director of National Security & Resilience at the Royal United Services Institute. He said the nature of terrorism is changing. In the past, terrorist organizations planned high impact explosive attacks on high-security targets, such as the airline industry. He said an attack like that against Mumbai is different.

"There are varying ways in which it's more dangerous, this kind of attack, because you can have a huge impact with quite a low level of technology, but in the same token, actually the amount of attack planning and training that needs to take place gives you a number of points where you could perhaps interdict⁴ these individuals before the attack takes place."

Britain's Home Office has refused to comment on the reports. Germany said Wednesday that at this point there are no "concrete pointers" to imminent⁵ attacks in Germany. Neither country has raised its terrorism threat level.

In France, ministers warned earlier this month of a terror threat. A famous monument in Paris, the Eiffel Tower, was evacuated⁶ Tuesday due to a bomb scare for the second time this month.

The terror plot has been linked to an increase in U.S. drone attacks against Pakistan this month. Security experts say there have been around 20 attacks in September - double the average number.

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

3 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

4 interdict   

v.限制；禁止；n.正式禁止；禁令

参考例句：

• Troops could be ferried in to interdict drug shipments.可以把军队渡运过来阻截毒品的装运。
• Interdict could also be sought for the protection of public interests.禁令也可以用于保护公共利益。

5 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。

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。