VOA标准英语2009年-Attempted Terrorist Attack on Airliner

Jeff Seldin | Washington 26 December 2009

 
Photo: AP
Helicopter circling near control tower of Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 26 Dec 2009

 

The White House is calling a small explosion aboard an international flight bound for the U.S. city of Detroit "an attempted act of terrorism."  Counterintelligence officials say a Nigerian engineering student tried to blow the plane up shortly before it landed.  Senior U.S. lawmakers are now expressing concerns about possible links between the attack and the al-Qaida terrorist network. 

Passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit say just as the plane was getting ready to land there was a loud pop, and then panic.

"We heard a loud pop and a bit of smoke and then some flames, and then yelling and screaming," said one passenger.

"The lady shouted 'what are you doing, what are you doing?' said another.  "And then we looked back.  There were some fumes¹ and some flames."

"It was scary," said a third passenger.  "It was a loud firecracker that went off, and there was a fire in the plane."

Within seconds, some passengers sprang into action.

"There was one guy who sat on the other side, on the right side of the wing," said a passenger who witnessed the heroic act.  "This was on the left side of the wing. He jumped over all the other people and he took care of it, so the fire went out."

Officials have identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab - a 23-year-old from Nigeria - whose name appears on a U.S. intelligence watch list.

They say Mutallab suffered severe burns when he tried to use a liquid to ignite powder strapped² to his legs and blow up the aircraft.

New York Congressman³ Peter King, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, was briefed by intelligence officials shortly after the plane landed.  "Well, some definite facts.  One is that he has al-Qaida connections. Secondly⁴, that it was a fairly sophisticated device."

Mutallab, an engineering student who studied in Britain, told investigators⁵ he was acting⁶ on instructions from al-Qaida and got the explosive materials in Yemen.  Those claims have yet to be confirmed.  But Congressman King says there is plenty of reason to worry. 

"How he was able to get on in Nigeria, what happened in Amsterdam, which is a visa waiver country, how he was able to get through and make it this far with the devices he had, these are all issues that have to be resolved."

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered security measures to be stepped up at all U.S. airports.  And security officials are encouraging passengers to be observant and report any suspicious activity.

Meanwhile, IntelCenter, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring group that works with the U.S. government, warns the Christmas day attack could be just the start, and that the possibility of additional attempts on U.S. airplanes can not be ruled out.
 

1 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

2 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。