VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - What Happened to Life of

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Personal photos show Faisal Shahzad smiling. And why not? The young man built a promising¹ life in a new land. He became an American citizen a year ago. He had an American-born wife from a family in his native Pakistan. He had two children and a house. A master's degree from an American school. And a job with an international marketing² company in Connecticut.

But the image of his life started to change.

He got married six years ago in Peshawar. A wedding guest told the New York Times that he had shown no sign then of being extremist or even at all religious. But the guest said in the last year or two he began talking more about Islam and "lost his way" in a struggle with financial problems.

In February he returned to the United States without his family after a five-month visit to Pakistan.

Now investigators³ have been working to piece together a complete picture of Faisal Shahzad. They say he has admitted driving a car bomb into heavily crowded Times Square in New York City last Saturday. The device failed to explode.

Faisal Shahzad

The thirty-year old suspect was arrested Monday and officials described him as cooperative⁴. He reportedly said he received bomb-making training in the Waziristan area of Pakistan. At first the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the failed bombing. But on Thursday it denied any link to Faisal Shahzad. If found guilty of the charges against him, he could face life in prison.

The United States is talking to Pakistan about the investigation⁵.

The suspect was born in a tiny northwestern village to an upper-middle class family. His father was a high-level air force officer in the Pakistani military.

The bomb in the sport utility vehicle included propane tanks, gasoline and fireworks. Jim Cavanaugh is a bomb expert who worked for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

JIM CAVANAUGH: "Well, when you see the device, what comes to mind immediately is that you have a whole lot of desire but not a whole lot of technical ability."

Faisal Shahzad was quickly identified and arrested fifty-three hours after the attempt in Times Square. His quick identification⁶ as a suspect took investigative work that even Jack⁷ Bauer on TV's "24" might have been proud of. But like many cases, luck also seemed to play a part.

As officials describe it, they lost him for a time. He fled to New York's Kennedy Airport and bought a ticket to Dubai. He was on his way to Pakistan. He was arrested as the plane was about to leave the gate.

Later, once the plane left the gate, it was ordered to return for further investigation.

AIR CONTROLLER: "Emirates 202, [unclear] actually I have a message for you to go back to the gate immediately.”

Officials had added Faisal Shahzad to a no-fly list hours earlier. Now, airlines will have to check the no-fly list within two hours of being told of additions, instead of twenty-four hours.

What happened in New York a week ago has added to calls for new laws to deny gun and explosive purchases to suspected terrorists⁸. A government report this week said people on a terrorism watch list legally bought guns and explosives more than one thousand times in the past six years.

And that’s IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

 

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

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 cooperative   

adj.有合作意向的，合作的；n.合作社（企业）等

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• We decided to set up a cooperative.我们决定开办一家合作社。

5 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。

6 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。