This Day in History July 7歷史上的今天 7月7日…

It was a nightmare situation most people would only imagine seeing in the movies. On this date in 2005, London was starting its usual morning routine. People got up, got ready, and started their days. Unfortunately, the day turned dark very quickly. During the morning rush hour, a series of attacks took place on London's public transportation system. At 8:50 AM, three bombs exploded in three different Underground trains. An hour later, another bomb hit a double-decker bus. Eight men were responsible for the bombings. They were angry about Britain's involvement in the Iraq War. Overall, 52 people were killed and more than 700 were injured.

歷史上的今天 7月7日…

這對大多數人而言，就像是只會在電影裡發生的惡夢般情節。2005年的今日，倫敦市民正開始往常般的行程。大 家起床，做好準備後開始一天的活動。不幸的是，沒多久這天就蒙上了陰影。在早上的尖峰時段，一連串的攻擊發生在倫敦的大眾交通運輸系統上。早上8點50 分，3顆炸彈在3班不同的地鐵列車上爆炸。ㄧ個小時後，另一枚炸彈擊中一輛雙層巴士。有8人必須為這幾起爆炸負責，起因是他們對英國參與伊拉克戰爭而心生 不滿。總計有52人喪生，7百餘人受傷。

知識大補帖

倫敦地鐵（London Underground）於1863年啟用。列車在市中心時於地底下行駛，於郊區則是在地面運行。倫敦地鐵也被暱稱為The Tube（水管），這是因為列車在像管道一樣的圓形隧道裡行駛。除了倫敦地鐵遭到炸彈攻擊（圖，資料照片）外，1987年倫敦地鐵的國王十字站 （King’s Cross St. Pancras）也曾發生大火，促成之後地鐵車站內實施禁菸，預防類似事件發生。

單字片語

◎nightmare
n. 夢靨，惡夢
◎routine
n. 例行公事
例：Doing the laundry is part of my daily routine.（洗衣服是我的日常例行公事之一。）
◎rush hour
n. 交通尖峰時刻
例：I hate taking the bus during rush hour. It always takes forever to get where I want to go.（我討厭在尖峰時間搭公車。我總是要花很久時間才能到達目的地。）
◎transportation
n. 運輸工具；運輸
◎explode
vi. 爆炸
例：The missile exploded shortly after it was launched.（那枚炸彈發射後不久就爆炸了。）
◎overall
adv. 總計；整體上(置於句首)
例：Overall, Tommy's report card was not that bad.（整體而言，湯米的成績並沒那麼差。）