美国国家公共电台 NPR 'I'm Ready To Call 911': Austin On Edge With 'Serial Bomber' At Large

'I'm Ready To Call 911': Austin On Edge With 'Serial¹ Bomber²' At Large

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Investigators³ are combing a neighborhood in Austin, Texas, looking for clues to catch what they're now calling a serial bomber. Since the beginning of this month, four explosions across the city have killed two people and wounded four others, one gravely. Here's NPR's John Burnett.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE⁴: Bomb experts from around the nation are streaming into the capital of Texas, hoping to solve this macabre⁵ mystery before the bomber strikes again. In the latest attack, two men in their early 20s were walking along a quiet street Sunday night when they tripped a wire that exploded a bomb near a hiking trail. They remain hospitalized in stable condition. The fourth bombing in 16 days has deeply unnerved this friendly, funky⁶, Sunbelt city. And according to Chris Combs, FBI special agent in charge, it was a game changer.

CHRIS COMBS: It changes it from a more of a targeted approach to a more random⁷ approach, and that's very concerning to us.

BURNETT: Officials say the bomber knows what he's doing. He's shown a sophistication with triggers. Two bombs blew up when the victims picked up packages left at doorsteps. The third exploded when the person took the box indoors and opened it. The fourth went off when the two pedestrians⁸ hit a thin metal wire or fishing line that triggered a bomb. And yet the bomber has defied a discernible pattern of attack. His four strikes have been geographically⁹ and racially diverse - black, Latino and white. The FBI's renowned¹⁰ behavioral profilers are now in Austin, and Combs says they're anxious to know who they're dealing¹¹ with.

COMBS: We would like the bomber to reach out to us so we can talk to them, so that we can understand why are they doing this. Is it terrorism? Is it civil rights? Is it something completely off the radar¹²? We don't know that, and that's why it's important to get this dialogue going.

BURNETT: More than 500 investigators and bomb technicians are on the case. Austin police say they have persons of interest but no suspects. Anthony May spent 20 years as a bomb tech in the military and 20 more years as a bomb specialist with Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Now he's a consultant¹³ in Arizona.

ANTHONY MAY: When the device goes off, that doesn't mean the evidence goes away. The criminal investigators, the FBI, the ATF, they are probably collecting 98 to 99 percent of the material used in that particular bomb.

BURNETT: May says they look for the device's unique signature then start visiting stores to find out who made multiple purchases of these items. An ATF source who asked not to be named because he wasn't authorized¹⁴ to speak says they're also looking at recent police reports of explosions, perhaps in rural areas near Austin, where the bomber may have tested his mechanism¹⁵. Public officials are telling folks what has become the grim watchword of our times, See Something, Say Something - a backpack, a suitcase, a bag, a box, anything that looks suspicious or out of place.

One CEO told me he called a local fire department when a box from Amazon showed up at his office door that was strangely taped. Tense moments ensued. The package turned out to contain floor cleaner, vacuum bags and books, just what he'd ordered. On Monday morning, Natalie Janis (ph) called the hospital where she's a nurse and said she was scared to come into work for her early morning shift. I found her at Zilker Park at noon playing with her daughter, Sofia (ph). Janis is from Reynosa, Mexico.

NATALIE JANIS: (Speaking Spanish).

BURNETT: "We're afraid. We're afraid to leave. I feel safe in the park because I can see everyone who's around me," she says. "But they're putting bombs everywhere. I'm on alert for whatever type of situation. I'm ready to call 911." John Burnett, NPR News, Austin.

1 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

2 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

3 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》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 macabre   

adj.骇人的，可怖的

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards.他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• Mr Dahl was well-known for his macabre adult stories called 'Tales of the Unexpected'.达尔先生以成人恐怖小说集《意料之外的故事》闻名于世。

6 funky   

adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的

参考例句：

• The kitchen smelled really funky.这个厨房有一股霉味。
• It is a funky restaurant with very interesting art on the walls.那是一家墙上挂着很有意思的绘画的新潮餐馆。

7 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

8 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

10 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

13 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

14 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

15 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。