用法学习: 1. manifest [ˈmænɪˌfest] adj. obvious and easy to notice or understand. If you say that something is manifest, you mean that it is clearly true and that nobody would disagree with it if they saw it or considered it. ...the manifest failure of the policies. There may be unrecognised cases of manifest injustice of which we are unaware. She manifestly failed to last the mile and a half of the race. the program's manifest weaknesses. The same alarm is manifest everywhere. Some of her social aspirations were made manifest. verb. 显露出来. to show something such as a feeling or ability, so that it is easy to notice. If you manifest a particular quality, feeling, or illness, or if it manifests itself, it becomes visible or obvious. He manifested a pleasing personality on stage. The virus needs two weeks to manifest itself. Their frustration and anger will manifest itself in crying and screaming. He's only convincing when that inner fury manifests itself. Jane manifested an unwillingness to sit and talk to Lydia. manifest itself to become easy to notice. Musical talent usually manifests itself in childhood. passenger manifest a list of passengers on a ship or plane. 2. Others used sarcasm or just straight up mean 直截了当地邪恶的 tweets to express their displeasure at the selection of performer and song 表演嘉宾和歌曲的选择.
Line of duty Season 5: 1. There's a routine pick-up 例行提货, we've got the driver. Instead of the planned pick-up, we hijack the empty lorry to do our job. And higher levels of our organisation have bent coppers in their pocket. You just said we had the firepower 火力. Yeah, but hopefully that's just for show ( for show 做给人看的, 为了面子, 装点门面, 做做样子, 吓唬吓唬, 唬人的 with the purpose of looking attractive or impressive rather than being useful He does actually play his guitar – it‘s not just for show. Done merely for the sake of appearance; not genuine or sincere. Edward always carries a lot of highly literary books around with him, but it's all for show so he can appear smarter to other people. The items in the window are just for show, so I'm afraid I can't sell them to you.). A big shoot-out'll bring every copper in the area out on a blue light. We need time to load the lorry. Best way to do that is to get in quietly. That means inside men. You make the necessary contacts. 2. We could call her back in, show her a range of images and try and make it evidential 可当做证据的. Look, Dot's a stick for everyone to beat us with ( a stick to beat someone with 攥在别人手里的把柄 If you say that something is a stick to beat someone with, you mean that it is used, or could be used, as a basis for criticism. Unfortunately historic American fiction is constantly being used as a stick to beat contemporary British writers with. a piece of information or an argument that can be used for criticizing or punishing someone This report is being used as yet another stick to beat nurses with.). They know he undermines our credibility. Yeah, well, no more skulking around (If you skulk somewhere, you hide or move around quietly because you do not want to be seen. You, meanwhile, will be skulking in the safety of the car. Harry skulked off. ), OK? 3. We can secure your investment with a deposit payment. I've got all the paperwork. What's the deposit? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yeah, I know. How much? 100 grand. Ted, wait, wait, wait. There's a way around it 绕开的办法. Part of the deal is to recoup your original losses. We can set up a loan facility against the credit you'll receive when those losses are paid back. Look, you've told me your situation. You've sold the family home, you're living out of a hotel room, your missus is in a poky little flat. This'll put all that in reverse(go into reverse/put something into reverse 大转向, 翻转, 时来运转 To cause something to move backward or in the opposite direction. to start to happen or to make something happen in the opposite way In the 1980s economic growth went into reverse. The incident threatened to put the peace process into reverse.). We're both seasoned 老练的 coppers. We've risked our lives and stood all the crap they rain down. Haven't we earned a payday? 4. Truth is I don't know, John. For my own good, I plan to keep it that way. I've had enough of this game. This is how he operates. He's one of us. He's got to be there, in the same trench 同一条船上, 同一根绳上的蚂蚱, 同一个战壕, for our security. I'm not having this bent bastard cross us. 5. It's a bit brass monkeys tonight, isn't it? Right, no time for small talk. There's a girl on the unit 在某单位. Name's Lisa McQueen. I've got her reaching out to bent coppers. She's also the one that makes contact with the higher levels of the organisation. This is McQueen's burner number. It's for surveillance only. Don't go making any kind of moves without clearing it with me first. Got it. Look, the deal we made, mate, it's for keeps 永远 ( permanently; indefinitely. Something that is for keeps is permanent and will not change. Ensure that whatever you gain now will be for keeps. He advised them to leave town for keeps. "they'll have to give us the trophy for keeps if we win it again"). We go after the bent bastards, no matter how high, no matter what it takes. Look, we're in this together! 6. Surveillance of 监视 Lisa McQueen, the female OCG nominal, has identified two locations of interest to our inquiry. Now, we were particularly interested in the period McQueen was there. This image shows a figure leaving via a back exit. Any recognition data? Unfortunately not, sir. We've blown it up 放大, but we can't visualise any features 分辨不出任何特征来, 看不出什么特征来. But we're keeping the image on file in case biometrics match - a suspect down the line. Good. 7. Sir, DI Fleming's right, but we still haven't determined for certain the nature 性质 of what occurs at these premises. McQueen's still carrying out contacts, possibly with corrupt police officers. If we go in, we risk missing out on future leads. Same applies to raiding the print shop to arrest the UCO. We might miss out on apprehending 拘捕 every member of the OCG. Look, Steve, I know this Minkowicz guy is the guy that tortured you, and we all want him behind bars, but Kate has raised a vulnerability issue here we cannot ignore. There's a strong suggestion women in that block are being kept in modern-day slavery to provide sexual services. Our duty is to protect them. So we will carry out that duty, and we will raid the house, and raid the print shop. 8. We can't take everything. We've got to be selective. What about the security guards? These are our guys. They've already organised their shifts so they'll be on when the lorries arrive. Bird's been on my case for days. Best just give her what's she's gagging for, huh? That'd take all of us. You sound a bit overdressed 穿的过多了 to me. This was out of my hands, mate, you've got to understand. 9. I also had to talk Rohan down 安抚 after we found out that Deputy Chief Constable Wise had agreed to suppress the red notice against Maneet Bindra. DCC Wise accepted the evidence that Maneet Bindra was acting undercover. Mind you, that is exactly what a sexist would do to cover his tracks (cover one's arse 补救措施). 10. Through the interpreter, one of the girls said she glimpsed a woman matching Lisa McQueen's description, around the time we know McQueen was in there. She, McQueen, was seen taking one of the Johns 镖客 into a bedroom. She wasn't providing sexual services? The girl said the John appeared surprised by McQueen, maybe even intimidated, but about what, she doesn't know. Description? Middle-aged, average height, or just above, heavy-ish build, light hair. She believes this could be him. Any distinguishing features 鲜明特征, 明显特征? The girl doesn't know enough English to identify a specific region, but she thinks he had a strong accent, definitely not local. 11. Corbett claims he was forced to commit offences to maintain his cover. Sir, Steve's built a rapport. Corbett's the CHIS he's been using. He's enabled us to detect 发现, 发觉 Jane Cafferty's corruption, apprehend Lee Banks, identify Miroslav Minkowicz and Lisa McQueen, and break up an important element of their sex trafficking operation. It does appear Corbett's still carrying out an undercover operation. And now he's relayed 传递 intelligence on a planned armed robbery of the Eastfield Depot. 12. Corbett's insisted we met on the DL because he's convinced there's a high-level conspiracy to suppress 打压, 压制 his investigation. Who? Who at high level? He reckoned DSU Powell sabotaged his efforts to gather intelligence on senior police officers colluding with organised crime. He also expressed suspicions about the Gaffer. Right. What's he got to back it up 有什么证据? The raids on the print shop and the brothel. There is no way, in this day and age, the Gaffer would have ignored the vulnerability of the women in that brothel. 13. Look, if we are contemplating collaborating with John Corbett, and that's a big if, we cannot allow this to blow up in our faces. He will go to jail, come what may, I can promise you that. I'm going to have to run this past the DCC. But, look you're my best team. If this is how you want to call it I will back you to the hilt. 14. I want that bent bastard here with us, taking the same risk we are. How do we know he's not going to set us up? You want to call it off? No way. How's it going to look 别人会怎么看 when we say we bottled it ( bottle something up I. to deliberately not allow yourself to show a strong feeling or emotion It is far better to cry than to bottle up your feelings. II. to cause problems by delaying something The bill has been bottled up in Congress. bottle it 胆怯, 怯场, 放弃了 [British, informal] If you say that someone has bottled it, you mean that they have lost their courage at the last moment and have not done something they intended to do. When you're on the verge of doing something awesome but back out at the last second or fail to accomplish your objectives due to cowardice. He was scheduled to appear on the TV Show, but bottled it at the last minute. Whether it's gaining a sizable lead during a Street Fighter match but ultimately losing or posting an inflamatory response on the forum then deleting it are two common examples of how to bottle it. )? Right. 15. I'm picking up a Status Zero call. You've got a whole firearms unit there. Sir, this could be a deliberate diversion [daɪˈvɜrʒ(ə)n] 支开, 支走, 调虎离山, 故意调开(I. [countable] something that is intended to take someone's attention away from something that you do not want them to concentrate on or notice. create a diversion 分心, 分神: You create a diversion and I'll run for the door! II. [countable/uncountable] a change in the use or purpose of something. This would result in a massive diversion of funds. III. [countable] formal an activity that you do for fun. sightseeing, museum visits, and other pleasant diversions. divert I. 导向. 导流. to make something move or travel in a different direction divert someone/something from something: Police are trying to divert traffic away from the trouble spot. II. to use something for a purpose that is different from its original or main purpose. divert someone/something from something: In an emergency, workers will be diverted from less urgent tasks to help out. divert someone/something to something: Teachers called on the government to divert the extra money to schools. III. to do something to take people's attention away from something that you do not want them to concentrate on or notice. divert something from someone/something: Cooper claims that the state used the investigation to divert attention from its financial problems. ). That's as may be 有可能, Kate, but regs are regs. First duty, preservation of life 保护生命. Divert the AFOs to respond to the Status Zero. 16. We have obs 观察到, 观测到 on high-ranking nominal having joined the OCG operation. I need the AFOs, state six ASAP. Ma'am, we're in a lockdown here. Possible firearms threat. I'm sorry, mate, I'm pulling rank 我官大听我的. I'm making the decision as TFC (Tactical Firearms Commander). Deploy me one vehicle and three AFOs, ASAP. 17. sitrep in British[ˈsɪtˌrɛp] a military situation report. One Zero, what's your sit rep? Hold on, there's an ambulance coming. DCS Hargreaves, sir. Alpha Charlie Eight Two, sit rep 情况报告, no obs 没有观察到异常. What happened? We skidded off the road, Sarge. They must've put oil down or something. "They"? We saw the OCG in the trees. Guns and balaclavas. 18. I told you that bent bastard grassed 出卖, 报告 us up to cover his own arse! I know a rat when I see one! 19. We had trackers concealed in every single consignment of value. Hargreaves tipped them off. They detected and disposed of them all. We don't know how he knew. 20. You crashed the patrol car, and then put oil on the road to make it look like an ambush. PC Bloom, I've been in consultation with the Crown Prosecutor regarding a charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Your best option right now is to tell us who put you up to it 谁下的命令, 谁让你干的. 21. I'm telling you, this Corbett fella's playing us for a bunch of mugs. But that's OK, cos we can play that game as well. 22. Any explanation on where the leak came from about the trackers? No. Looks like Hargreaves made an educated guess. How's yours gone 你的审讯怎样? Well, the trafficked girl alleges they were under orders to harvest DNA with certain clients, used condoms kept in cold storage. Same blackmail MO they've used before, capturing DNA to plant at a crime scene. Possibly Hargreaves WAS being blackmailed into conspiring in the robbery, and he was forced to be there as security against double crossing the OCG. Hence the Status Zero call. A cover story in case he was spotted, and had to explain what he was doing in the vicinity of the robbery. The only problem with the Status Zero call meant we couldn't apprehend the OCG. 23. I was worried I was being stood up 放鸽子. Yeah. No, I'm sorry about that. Sorry. I found a way to pass the time 消磨时间. How would you characterise AC-12's endeavours to apprehend a dangerously unpredictable UCO? I would say that we've been unlucky. Yeah. And we're failing. Well, not everyone agrees. No? Some say it's just you that's failing. Ted, I'm on your side. I don't want this to end badly for you. I don't want the fiasco of Operation Pear Tree, which was not of your making, to add a disastrous coda to an otherwise distinguished career. What are you saying? You've always put your team, your department, your principles first. Maybe the time's come to look after number one. How come I've got the sneaking suspicion that we're talking about early retirement here? You're flattering yourself using the adjective "early"! Thank you. 24. You screwed me over! I trusted you. You were meant to be there to nick the bent bastard! Is that why you murdered him?! He's dead? What do you expect when you unload an automatic rifle at someone?! No, I aimed low, to wound, so he wouldn't get away, so you'd have him for questioning. Where were you when I needed you? The Status Zero gave us no choice. First duty, preserve life. What kind of mug 傻逼 wouldn't realise that that was a diversion, eh? Hastings? Look, Steve, don't you get it? He pulled you out of there so we could get away with the gear. He's the one calling all the shots. 25. Are you in any pain? Not any more. They've doped me up ( dope someone up to give drugs to someone or an animal. Her parents doped her up with medicine so she would sleep through the night. It's dangerous to dope up a child night after night. The trainer got caught doping the horse up.) to the eyeballs. He spoke with a Belfast accent. He said you'd know why he done it. He said you'd know what you've cost him. No, these people, they're just thugs. You don't believe a word that comes out of their mouth. They're just trying to get to me with all this, and trying to stop my team from beating a path to their door. There's any number of ongoing inquiries, of course. But you know I'm not allowed to disclose. You and your precious regulations. He's only been to my home, only tortured me and put me in hospital. Given the victim is your wife, sir, I'm sure you appreciate why Serious Crime needs to handle this independently. Yeah, well, it's just as well I'm out of it. Because I can tell you whoever is responsible for this, he'd better pray he's up in front of a judge before I get my hands on him. Any new leads on Hargreaves? We're working on it. I'm learning the hard way how people react when they find out you've had a bent boss, the insinuation ( [ɪnˈsɪnjuˌeɪt] to say something unpleasant in an indirect way. insinuate (that): He even went as far as insinuating that Roger was a liar. ) you must have known. Ma'am. 26. Sam told us Mrs Hastings claimed her attacker had a Northern Irish accent. And we all know her injuries are classic paramilitary punishment wounds. Look, the gaffer's had the shock of his life. Your family, that's a whole another level. Let's hope the gaffer opens up, before we have to start asking. 27. We've just hit a few bumps 遇到点麻烦 trying to fence the Eastfield gear, that's all. Yeah, but nothing we can't get over in time 给点时间. But maybe it'd help speed things along by fencing the gear via other units. We just need a bit of a leg-up, that's all, you know. That way, we all get to reap the rewards. Call him back. That's not how this works. Well, you tell me, then, how it works! What, is he some kind of mind-reader or what? No. I talk to someone who talks to someone who talks to someone. Tell me who, and I'll get the message through 信息传递过去. It's time me and this prick had words. That's what I'm worried about, mate. Why are you protecting him? Protecting him? Jesus, John, it ain't that way round 翻过来. No? Hargreaves crossed us. So who's he going to have crossed us to? Hey? Now we've got one load of coppers on our tail and another load on a payroll. Someone's orchestrating all that. 28. What's happening? We're rounding up officers identified by semen deposits that were being kept in cold storage at the Borogrove Estate brothel. Some have already confessed to being blackmailed into assisting the OCG. One of the semen deposits matched Hargreaves' DNA. It was recent as well. Suggesting the blackmail was also recent? It's looking that way 看起来是那样的, boss. I've re-interviewed all the officers known to have assisted the OCG, Jane Cafferty, Kieran Bloom and so on. None of them claim to have had contact with Hargreaves before a few months ago. There's no way he could have been H. H goes back much further 时间更久的多. 29. We've analysed the account using various tools and been able to access the metadata. And tracing the communication between the device at Kingsgate Printing Services reveals another user with internet protocol address located in Spain. That doesn't necessarily mean the user's in Spain. The user could have concealed their true location, connecting via multiple VPNs. They may be in Spain. They may be next door. There's no way of knowing. Have you harvested enough information for us to impersonate the unknown user online? Yes, given time 再给点时间, 再有几天(in time/with time/given time after a period of time These symptoms will start to get better with time. I would have thought of the answer, given time. If you say that something will happen in time or given time, you mean that it will happen eventually, when a lot of time has passed. He would sort out his own problems, in time. Tina believed that, given time, her business would become profitable.), we can simulate all the metadata. We'd also need to formulate some characteristic statements in advance so users on the other end don't think it's an impersonation. This would all take a few days. 30. We sent some flowers. Hospitals don't allow flowers any more. Infection control. Oh. Still, it's a very generous thought, ma'am. We're very grateful. 50 million quid's worth of seized 被查获的 goods stolen from a police facility that was supposed to be under AC-12 surveillance. Yes. But we did succeed in apprehending the senior officer who was in cahoots with 串通一气 the organised crime group, the head of Serious Crime, no less. And we will round up his accomplices, Corbett included, believe you me. There's now a personal dimension to your inquiry, following the assault on your wife. Indeed, ma'am, but Serious Crime are handling that investigation. I am taking no part. The reason they did it, ma'am, was to pull me away from the bigger inquiry. I would ask you not to give them the satisfaction. But it's only natural people will question how it affects your judgment. I can vouch for Superintendent Hastings' personal integrity. He won't mind me saying no-one's a bigger stickler for regulations. He's still the best man for the job. Fine. But let me put this as plainly as possible. Last chance, Ted. Clear? Completely, ma'am. 31. Well, my wife was attacked exactly the same time as I was with you. I mean, if that's not a sign, I don't know what is. Thanks for backing me up 为我说话, 撑腰, 说好话 in there. 32. What you on about 你在说些什么, 你在唠叨什么, John? I saw the new camera and the targeted surveillance. Following a recent incident, we've stepped up security on all AC-12 staff and their families. Any idea what incident I might be referring to? Last time I checked, you were anti-corruption. You haven't got the budget to provide that level of protection. Never kid a kidder, son. There was an assault on Roisin Hastings. Superintendent Hastings' wife. Someone impersonating me with a forged warrant card. You're a forger 造假者, 造假证的人. 33. There's no way am I authorising us digging into the gaffer's past. But no-one's going to raise an eyebrow if we look deeper into Corbett's. 34. To the best of your knowledge, did John ever served with the Royal Ulster Constabulary, as it was called until 2001, or the Police Service of Northern Ireland? I don't think so. Ever lived over there? Any family connections? This is John to a T ( Precisely; exactly; perfectly; with great attention to detail. The announcement of the political endorsement was timed to a T.), this is. Lying bastard's always said he was Liverpool born and bred. We'd appreciate if you could provide us with some documents, Mrs Corbett. Your husband's driving licence, birth certificate. John'd have them. Do you have a marriage certificate by any chance? We got wed all right, and there's not a day goes by where it ain't the biggest mistake I ever made. The marriage certificate checks out as genuine. So it would appear John Corbett was the name he was using at the time. 35. I get it, OK? I screwed up. The Eastfield goods are too hot 不好出手. But the brothel got raided, so maybe we should avoid the livestock trade. Look, I'm not a fan either. As I said, business is business. Like it or not, this is what we do. Do you? Do I what? Like it. Don't ask yourself that. It don't lead anywhere helpful. I'm in, that's all. No matter what? I just do what's expected. What matters is the Eastfield job. We've got to pull together to make it pay off. "We"? You've got to go right to the top. Only the top man can get enough coppers looking the other way 别过脸去, 视而不见, 睁一只眼闭一只眼 so we can move the goods on. I've already set up a meet. 36. I'll do everything I can to make him give himself up peacefully. No, no, son. You hang on to that. We're not going to take any chances here. Sir. It won't come to that. 37. Where's the meeting taking place? No. No way. I know your game 我知道你想耍什么把戏. I give you that, and this gets taken out my hands. And you know why I can't let that happen. This corrupt network goes right to the top. And today, I'll prove how close to home. Come and work with us, not against us. Is that the best you can come up with? I assaulted your gaffer's wife. He'll make sure I go down. There's no two ways about it. I believe you, mate. I honestly do. But only one of us is prepared to go the distance on this job. You've got blind loyalty 死忠, 愚忠, which stops you seeing what's plain as day, the person this trail leads to. Apprehend the subject at once. Arrest the subject. 75, target blocked, no visual 看不到 on subject. Sir, we'll lose all of Corbett's intel. Lethal force is authorised where there's an immediate threat to life.
We know that Corbett is a cold-blooded killer. The order is Fahrenheit. You shoot me and the truth never comes out. What kind of copper are you, eh? One who cares about orders, or one who cares about justice? You wearing a wire? Yeah. Take it out. And I'll tell you the where and when for this meeting. Steve, do not comply 不要听他的. Be careful who you tell. Because if it doesn't happen, you know you've got a leak. Thanks, mate. not yet visual with target. 38. I think I've let him stew long enough, don't you? Sir, I'd appreciate your guidance on my report for the SFC. Your Fahrenheit order was irregular. Now listen The SFC authorised the use of firearms for this morning's operation. The suspect was a known armed criminal with a history of violence who was an immediate and credible threat to the public. I'll hear your report. My operational assessment was that Corbett had acquired high-value intelligence which overrode the necessity for arrest. My order was clear and lawful. I'm not an assassin. If loss of life can be avoided, it should be avoided. And with respect, sir, I'd dispute the lawfulness 合法性 of your order. You'd just learned Corbett had been responsible for a vicious attack on your wife. What was the intelligence that Corbett divulged? Was that intelligence relating to the senior police officer complicit with the OCG? Am I right? So what was the intelligence 情报? Corbett advised me to limit my disclosure, as he fears there may be a leak. Well, I am looking round this room, son, and I can only see me and you, so I do not know where this leak is going to come from! You're skating on thin ice with me, DS Arnott. 39. Are you going to acknowledge that the meeting was arranged? It's one of the pre-composed 事先拟好的 responses we've constructed to convince them they're talking to the right person. 40. I want to be transparent on police corruption. The public needs to know we're investigating institutionalised complicity 内部的通敌 between the police and organised crime. Alleged complicity. And the lack of progress puts me in an invidious ( [ɪnvɪdiəs] I. If you describe a task or job as invidious, you mean that it is unpleasant because it is likely to make you unpopular. The local authority could find itself in the invidious position of having to refuse. II. An invidious comparison or choice between two things is an unfair one because the two things are very different or are equally good or bad. Police officers fear invidious comparisons. It is invidious to make a selection.) position. It's better anti-corruption doesn't exist than it's seen to fail. I'm being strongly advised to suppress the truth. The truth? That corrupt officers are winning. Hang on a minute. It's hard enough catching criminals, never mind bent coppers. Andrea. Ted, you'll receive written notification, AC-12's authority to investigate Operation Pear Tree has been rescinded [rɪˈsɪnd] 撤销. You're taking us off the case, ma'am? 41. This is a complete mess. Of your own making. Rohan, no-one wants to lie. But part of our duty is to uphold public trust, and sometimes that means having a non-exclusive relationship with the truth. 42. I'm banking that 赌 Corbett is going to attempt some kind of authentication at this point. This nightclub seems to be their current hideaway. If we look at burner phone activity here, at this location, then the second that Corbett or one of his wee mates tries to contact the nominals further up the chain, then we'll have a trail to the top man. OK, so H was a no-show at the meeting. He may have spotted our surveillance, but I'm backing us to be too clever to allow that to happen. I'm going to take a gamble that he was in the dark about it. 43. Our preferred option is to request information on the whereabouts of the stolen goods. Christ's sake. The Gaffer can't authorise an undercover op and be the UCO at the same time. There's no independent decision-making. Is he even trained in undercover? God knows. I'm going to have to report this. Sir, I honestly don't believe it's lawful for the same senior officer to sanction an undercover operation and carry it out without consulting the head of the Covert Unit or some other independent officer. I also believe that whoever's TFC on this will not be able to guarantee your safety. I recommend we commence a covert surveillance operation on the nightclub with a view to 意图 apprehending Corbett, McQueen and any other OCG nominal detected. 44. Are AC-12 opening an investigation into the whole of Serious Crime, seeing if we were all in on it? We haven't got the manpower 没有足够人手, 人力不足, 没有人力. 45. Well, these Eastfield goods are going to be difficult to get out the country, you know? We're all looking for a payday, right? Every cop in three counties is going to be looking for the goods, so we've got to find a way of throwing them off the scent. What better way to grease the wheels to get the head of anti-corruption who knows every bent cop going? You need to be more than that. How come you're showing your face? How come you're here on your own, no crew backing you up? There's no time. 46. What happened? There's a door into the adjoining building leading to an exit we didn't have under surveillance. I'm sorry, boss. It's not your fault, mate. This is why I told the Gaffer not to do this. Well, now I know why. 46. What's your plan? Well, notices will have been sent out to the port authorities and the border agencies, so I think our best option is to fly this stuff out through some private airport with slack 松懈, 松散的 security. I mean there's a hell of a lot of cargo here, it's going to take a couple of flights. I think we should start with the drugs cos they'll be the easiest got rid of, and we can use the Spanish connection. What airfield? Well, that'd be Green Hill Aerodrome. At the minute, we're investigating a number of drug squad officers who are under suspicion for smuggling contraband and it seems that Green Hill Aerodrome is their preferred route out. So that's why we have to move fast because there's only a small window of opportunity before the surveillance starts on Monday. So, first flight tomorrow night, two or three more after that, we get the whole thing wrapped up by the weekend. I just I don't believe that H would show up on his own. Oh, right. OK. So now I get why Clayton ended up bossing this unit, because he would not have the temerity 胆量 ( [təˈmerəti] the confidence to do or say something, especially when this seems rude or surprising. She wondered how she'd had the temerity to stand up to him that morning.) to piss me off. Now you find out where Clayton is, get him in here, so I can have a proper conversation 好好谈谈. 47. And thanks for keeping up the pretence in front of McQueen. She is our best chance of bringing Corbett in. You'll appreciate, sir, we do need to ask you a few questions. Yeah, well, let me save you the trouble. DCC Wise, she took us off the case. It could have been the end of AC-12. Look, I'm sorry that I didn't bring you in on 事先说, 事先通气 what I was planning, but it was the only way. Unfortunately, Corbett has gone to ground, but my hunch is he will be back sooner rather than later with his tail between his legs. I just want I just want to get home. Stick a couple of AFOs outside the door. Sir, if the OCG finds out you're not in custody, it poses a serious and credible threat to an investigation we've all worked so hard for. We need to maintain the pretence. 48. You know, we managed to neutralise the OCG, get the loot back from the Eastfield job, so should be back in the DCC's good books, I'd say. Sorry, Ted. The opposite. There's been some extremely serious allegations, which need to be thoroughly investigated. What kind of allegations? I'm not at liberty to say. I know I'm playing a bit fast and loose at the moment, but my team'll back me up, they always do. 49. What are these allegations? I'll fight them, just you watch! Who's leading the investigation? An outside unit with an anti-corruption SIO at least one rank senior to you. Oh, Jesus Christ! Not Patricia bloody Carmichael. That one has been fast-tracked from day one. She hasn't put in the same years as the rest of us mere mortals. I tell you, she'll see my scalp as a step up the ladder 晋升机会, believe you me. Ted, I can help you. I used to be a defence solicitor, a bloody good one. No, that's all right, Gill. I'll make my own arrangements, thank you. Well, you're your own man 你一向自有主意, Ted, you always have been. 50. Are you going to tell me what's going on? Sir, Detective Chief Superintendent Carmichael asked me to keep track of your movements. I was informed you'd absconded [əbˈskɑnd] 潜逃, 逃出来 from(to escape from a place where you are being kept as a punishment. He was put into jail but absconded within a few days.) AC-12. "Absconded"? Well, that's rich( rich I. 滑稽. 荒谬. 莫名其妙. [never before noun] used for saying that a criticism is unreasonable or illogical, usually because the person making it can be criticized for the same thing. a little rich: It is a little rich for anyone to now try to shift the blame about the consequences of the decision. that's rich: You're insulted! That's rich, after what you said to me! If you say that something a person says or does is rich, you are making fun of it because you think it is a surprising and inappropriate thing for them to say or do. Gil says that women can't keep secrets. That's rich, coming from him, the professional sneak. II. 丰厚的. worth a great deal of money, or bringing a great deal of money. the tournament with golf's richest first prize. III. a rich color, sound, or smell is strong in a pleasant way. a rich deep green. a rich baritone voice. the rich odor of spiced meats. IV. 丰富多彩的. interesting, with a lot of different qualities, experiences, or events. a town with a rich cultural heritage. V. 油多的. 油腻的. containing a lot of things such as butter, eggs, or cream that make your stomach feel full very quickly. Rich food contains a lot of fat or oil. ...the hearty, rich foods of Gascony. Additional cream would make it too rich. a rich chocolate dessert. a rich fruit cake. VI. 富含. If something is rich in a useful or valuable substance or is a rich source of it, it contains a lot of it. Liver and kidney are particularly rich in vitamin A. Fish is a rich source of protein. A rich deposit of 丰富储量 a mineral or other substance is a large amount of it. ...the country's rich deposits of the metal, lithium. ...the richness of the country's mineral deposits. VII. If you say that something is a rich vein or source of something such as humour, ideas, or information, you mean that it can provide a lot of that thing. The director discovered a rich vein of sentimentality. My collection of Victorian literature turned out to be a rich and often hilarious source of information. get-rich-quick 快速发财, 快速致富 a get-rich-quick plan is designed to earn you a lot of money in a short period of time, often in a way that is slightly dishonest or not sensible. noun. If you talk about the Earth's riches, you are referring to things that exist naturally in large quantities and that are useful and valuable, for example minerals, wood, and oil. ...Russia's vast natural riches 自然财富. They have received generous government support, backed by the country's growing oil riches. filthy rich = stinking rich If you say that someone is filthy rich or stinking rich, you disapprove of them because they have a lot of money. [informal, disapproval] He's stinking rich, and with no more talent than he ever had before. ...a handful of filthy rich young men who work eight months a year. ). Now, I'd just like to get to my room, if it's all the same to you. Sir, may I ask what's the purpose of your visit here? A hot bath and a change of clothes, for Christ's sake! Right, Constable, stand aside. Sir, we've made arrangements to question you. 51. DI Brandyce, my patience is wearing a bit thin. Right, Constable. Stand aside, that's an order. Sir, I've asked you politely to come to Decker Avenue. Yeah. And I politely declined. In that case, sir, you give me no choice but to arrest you. On what grounds? 52. What if he did blow Corbett's cover? Doesn't bear thinking about 不敢想. DCS Carmichael asked me to pass on a message. Yeah? Given the possible conflict of interest, it protects all parties for you both to stay out of the building. If she needs you, we'll call you in. 53. We've been given access to the accounts of Kettle Bell Property Partners. We are unable to detect the sum of £50,000 credited to Edward Hastings. Yeah, well, um Moffatt must have been keeping it off the books. Well, bearing in mind that's your version of events, Superintendent, Moffatt denies furnishing you with the cash. Yeah, and I told you the man's a liar! My client is telling the truth. He strenuously denies Mr Moffatt's account. Alternatively, hiding financial transactions on that scale, is that something you would normally do? 54. You just stated that Lee Banks isn't very forthcoming. What induced him to speak to you? I am the superintendent of the team that got him banged up and put behind bars, so, if he helps me with my inquiry, I'll put a word in to the court so they can take into account his cooperation when it comes to sentencing. There really isn't anything very clever about that. 54. The inquiry into Superintendent Hastings must be above reproach ( above/beyond reproach 无懈可击 such that no criticism can be made; perfect. "his integrity is beyond reproach". ). Wouldn't hurt to make sure. 55. You're not in any trouble. We just want to do right by John. It was all an act 都是演的, 都是假的, 都是装的 before. John told me that was how to play it to protect him. When what happened? The story was Anne-Marie was helping the police and then the police betrayed her. Let on she was an informant and that's why she got killed. When he was older, his auntie said there was one that Anne-Marie had talked about. A young fella her age. I think he took a shine to her and she trusted him to look out for her. He should have but he didn't. Or worse. What do you mean, worse? Something John said. This copper, he was married, and there was a bit of scandal about him spending so much time round Anne-Marie's. Maybe it suited him 是最好的 for Anne-Marie to go missing. 56. I'm sorry to probe 打听. I know this must be extremely upsetting for you. 57. I gave the order to save my officer's life. In your mind, having just learned that Corbett had tortured your wife, no other motivations were at work? None. You weren't vengeful towards Corbett? My first concern remained, as it should do for all police officers, the preservation of life. I did not cause his death. He brought it upon himself when he went rogue. I take no pleasure in this but the man had it coming to him in spades. 58. I'm really sorry to labour something that I know you find very upsetting, but I'd like to return to the injuries that John Corbett inflicted on your wife. Thank you for being truthful with us. I can't tell you how much easier that makes everything. 59. I just didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing how upsetting I found the whole event. So, you did appreciate the significance of the injuries? Yes, all right, look, if you want me to state the obvious. Yes, a resemblance to punishment and or torture meted out by(To mete out a punishment means to order that someone should be punished in a certain way. This provided an illustrative example of how justice was meted out to the local population at the time.) paramilitary and/or terrorist organisations. 60. A Catholic in the RUC, were you in the minority? I was, and am, a police officer. I do not discriminate against my fellow officers on grounds of creed ( I. A creed is a set of beliefs, principles, or opinions that strongly influence the way people live or work. [formal] ...their devotion to their creed of self-help. II. A creed is a religion. The centre is open to all, no matter what race or creed.), and I would appreciate the same courtesy. Well, the sergeant writing up that RUC periodic professional assessment didn't mind referring to it. Hastings appears to have a rapport with the Catholic community due to his own Catholic tendencies. 61. She was an CHIS informant? Yes. And did you play a role in Anne-Marie serving as a CHIS? Yes, well, she Look, she lived on my patch. You know, in those days, it was very difficult for the RUC to enter certain areas, to put it mildly. And I think some local women found out my mother was a Catholic and that I was a Catholic too. And I think that bought a bit of trust. You were instrumental in Anne-Marie trusting the police with information she was disclosing about terrorist organisations? I helped, that's all. 62. You were seen entering and leaving her home. Yes, you know, I'd give her a hand. Little odd jobs, there was no man about the house. I'm no expert in RUC covert tactics in the 1980s, but I would have thought that making it appear that a young woman from a Republican community has some kind of friendship with a police officer is only going to invite trouble. The sort of trouble that might get you targeted by a pipe bomb, or get your lady friend murdered. I object to the term "lady friend". According to the file, there were rumours you two were conducting an affair. Yeah, but that's what they were, rumours. Just gossip, drummed up by a bunch of people no better than they should've been. Regardless, I'm sure you can see how your intimacy could've put Anne-Marie in jeopardy. 63. According to the Missing Persons file, you were the last person to see her alive. That is an equivocation ( equivocate 混淆视听 [ɪˈkwɪvəˌkeɪt] to avoid making a clear statement by saying something that has more than one possible meaning. When someone equivocates, they deliberately use vague language in order to deceive people or to avoid speaking the truth. He is equivocating a lot about what is going to happen if and when there are elections. He had asked her once again about her finances. And again she had equivocated. Why doesn't the President say so without equivocation? ), Detective Chief Superintendent, as well you know. I'll rephrase. You were the last person to admit to police in an official statement to seeing Anne-Marie McGillis alive. I watched her walk down the street, turn the corner. Anne-Marie McGillis trusted you implicitly? Yes, I believe she did. One theory considered by the RUC is that you exploited that trust to lure Anne-Marie to her death. Completely false! The theory being that, as a Catholic, you were susceptible to relationships with the very organisations that Anne-Marie was informing on. 64. Anne-Marie McGillis was tortured in the same pattern as that inflicted on your wife. Yeah, but that's how they did it back then. But this does not necessitate a direct connection. 65. Who would want John Corbett dead? Well, clearly any individual against whom John Corbett might be gathering evidence, including those members of the OCG with whom he was embedded. Were there any specific corrupt police officers targeted by Operation Pear Tree? 66. You nearly cost me this case. I'll be expecting your transfer request 调职申请 first thing in the morning. 67. Look, I told you, Corbett was armed, he was responsible for the death of Maneet Bindra, Lester Hargreaves, I gave the order to safeguard my officer's life! Corbett was notifying DS Arnott of a meeting with a high-ranking nominal who could well have been H. Corbett was a liar. He was playing games with all of us. He was a decorated undercover officer whose courageous actions in the past had brought to justice hardened members of organised criminal groups. Corbett gave DS Arnott alone the details of the meeting with H. I suspect that he, you know, lied about the meeting at the Palisades to secure his own escape. Or he was telling the truth and the information was leaked to H. We detected no evidence of a leak. We examined your personal communications records and found no suspicious calls. However I do need you to account for two unexplained findings. We've detected activity in the vicinity of AC-12 on unregistered mobile phones, so-called burner phones used for illicit communications. We've identified a specific burner phone. 68. How closely had you studied the messages by H? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Quite closely. Closely enough to duplicate the misspelling of this particular word? Yes. You're the SIO on one of the biggest anticorruption operations this force has ever seen, and you have the headspace 还有心情去 to ( your general mental and emotional condition. Unscheduled time for reflection and thinking. Before I start on a painting, I need to be in the right headspace. ) learn to spell like H? Yes. Isn't it more likely that you inadvertently misspelled this word? 69. And after you entered the nightclub as part of your unauthorised undercover operation, you were next located where the Eastfield goods were being concealed. It was pure chance 纯粹是偶然, an active burner phone inadvertently left on by an OCG member, that meant you were found. We could be forgiven for thinking that you didn't want to be found. No, that's simply not true. The net was closing in. Your identity was slowly being unmasked. You reunited with the OCG in order to share in the profits of the Eastfield robbery. 70. You've got to hand it to 投降 ( have (got) to hand it to someone 赞叹, 赞扬 to give credit to someone. to recognize that someone deserves respect for what the person did: You’ve got to hand it to her, she built that cabin herself. ) Carmichael. There's a lot stacking up. And that's with setting aside the bundle of cash in your hotel room. Which I was about to return! All of it? Moffatt denies any knowledge of the money so nobody's put the exact sum to him. Now, I'm on your side, Ted. But if I was on a jury, I'd say this all looks damning 相当不利. Now, I'm confident I can talk the PCC into applying political pressure to suppress 压住 Carmichael's investigation. Much better to blow our trumpets about recovering the stolen goods and neutralising the OCG. You'll have to accept a misconduct charge for carrying out unauthorised operations and resign from the force. No doubt AC-12 will be disbanded. Thank you, yes, the threshold tests have been met definitely. 71. Well, the last thing I need right now is another knife in me back. That was never our intention, sir. Yeah? Funny way of showing it( You say you love me, But you sure have a funny way of showing it. a funny look if you give someone a funny look, you look at them in a way that shows you think they are behaving strangely I hunkered down, ignoring the funny looks from passers-by.). We've been making inquiries into some of the gaps 漏洞, 不清楚的地方 in our understanding of Corbett's involvement in Operation Pear Tree. Yeah. Under whose orders? Hers? No, sir, on our own. We're just trying to find the truth. What's going on? We've gathered further information that may be relevant to your inquiry. You can brief me in private. If it's OK with you, ma'am, we intend to share our findings with Superintendent Hastings and his solicitor. 72. Operation Pear Tree was originally authorised following an instruction from Rohan Sindwhani, the Police and Crime Commissioner. Sindwhani had made an election promise to tackle police corruption. The specific remit of Pear Tree is to examine whether complicity between organised crime and police officers has been institutionalised in this force. Detective Superintendent Alison Powell, having no connection to Central Police, was brought in to lead Pear Tree. Powell identified suitable undercover officers from outside forces and submitted their CVs to Deputy Chief Constable Andrea Wise. Following a consultation process, John Corbett was selected to be the UCO. Bear in mind, Corbett's background was available to be examined as part of the process. This was before his service record was erased from the database and large portions of the Pear Tree files were redacted. DSU Powell informed us that PCC Sindwhani took no part in the selection process, but it was agreed his Senior Legal Counsel would act on his behalf. I don't need to remind everyone there's been controversies surrounding undercover operations. The PCC required assurances that Pear Tree was legally watertight. According to DSU Powell, the Senior Legal Counsel strongly favoured Corbett and was instrumental in selecting him. Corbett had a distinguished record handling the perils of being embedded inside an organised crime group. He was by far the best man for the job. Ms Biggeloe, when did you first become aware of John Corbett? When we looked at the files to select an undercover officer. Ms Biggeloe, did you ever meet John Corbett? I refer you to my previous response. As part of our inquiry, we interviewed Corbett's widow, Stephanie. On the first occasion, she confirmed Corbett's upbringing in Northern Ireland. Following our interview with DSU Powell, we went back to Mrs Corbett with some specific questions regarding John Corbett's recruitment to Operation Pear Tree. We managed to convince her to cooperate with our inquiry and reveal hitherto ( [hɪðərtuː] You use hitherto to indicate that something was true up until the time you are talking about, although it may no longer be the case. As a result, workers who had hitherto been reliable now neglected their work. Hitherto, the main emphasis has been on the need to resist aggression. The consumer boom had made many hitherto scarce goods more readily available.) undisclosed evidence. Following a lawful search of the family home under Mrs Corbett's guidance, we recovered items concealed by her husband. Among the items was an audio recording of a meeting between John Corbett and Gill Biggeloe which took place in January 2018, a full month before the inception of Operation Pear Tree. Who authorised this? We detected apparent security lapses 疏失, 失误 on entering the building. The SFC authorised us to deploy firearms. All your AFOs are being disarmed as a precaution. TFC, 6-4, any obs on OCG? 6-4, no contact yet, stand by. Looks like the cavalry's not coming over the hill. Yeah, the last time Dot Cottan sent that message out, he was busted out in a couple of seconds. Looks like you're not as valuable as him. Or as valuable as you thought you were. So you get some major piece of work off a serious criminal charge, they put you on a retainer. But these retainers, they come with strings attached, don't they, Gill? But I suspect that she was enticed by the glamour. Why frame the gaffer? It's always more palatable to offer up a rotten apple than to uncover institutionalised corruption. And as AC-12 have been a constant thorn 如鲠在喉 in the side of the OCG, what better rotten apple than their commanding officer, right, Gill? We all know confessing to conspiracy to murder will make me ineligible for immunity from prosecution. Well, never mind betraying me, Gill. Never mind framing me. What about John Corbett? I mean, you let him believe that he was chasing the truth. Justice for his mother, for Christ's sake, for Anne-Marie. But instead he was chasing a lie. You set it running, then you sat around as you watched the dogs rip it apart. A tragic, senseless death. 73. Can you confirm, premises now secure? Yes, confirmed. Do you think she'll talk? She'll want to make a deal. Too fond of the finer things to do a prison stretch. The OCG didn't think Gill was worth saving, but someone gave the order to stop her talking. 74. There is one final gap 不明白的地方, 没有想通的地方, 不明之处, 疑点 we need to fill in. How did you know that John Clayton was an undercover officer, DS John Corbett? I didn't. Just that he was a rat. How? The leak about the meeting at the Palisades. It could have only come from him. How did that work? John was told the top man wanted to meet at the shopping centre. We had a meeting point on one of the walkways. It was nice and public so if anyone spotted us they'd think twice about trying to take us out. No-one else in the unit knew about the meet except for me and John. We had one of our blokes working the shopping centre in security. He said he'd seen the coppers waiting to ambush us. So we knew for certain the leak had to come from John. What did Lee Banks reveal to you about John Corbett? Only that there was a rat in the unit. 75. The Deputy Chief Constable and I are pleased to report Operation Pear Tree has completed a thorough investigation into institutionalised 有序的, 有机的, 有组织的, 一贯性的 ( I. established as an institution, custom, or common practice. the problem of institutionalised racism in the police force. Their inquiries revealed that the government suffered from institutionalised corruption. In the first century there was no such thing as institutionalized religion. II. If someone becomes institutionalized, they gradually become less able to think and act independently, because of having lived for a long time under the rules of an institution: We need to avoid long-stay patients in the hospital becoming institutionalized. ) complicity ( complicit 知情的, 通气了的 If someone is complicit in a crime or unfair activity, they are involved in it. involved in or knowing about a crime or some activity that is wrong: She was accused of being complicit in her husband's death. He did not witness her execution, yet he and the others are complicit in her death. [+ in] A mother who does not report the abuse is said to be complicit.) 里应外合 串通, 勾结 between organised criminals and corrupt police officers. Its robust findings couldn't be clearer, there is no institutionalised corruption in this police force. This constabulary will work tirelessly to root out 剔除 rotten apples in its ranks.
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Tuesday, 9 July 2019
Phrase Mix 11; wilting wilt 发蔫, wither [ˈwɪðər] 干枯 then shrivel 凋落, 发皱, 枯萎, droop 耷拉脑袋.
1. To put this piece in historical context, it was created during the period when Europeans were just beginning to explore the New World. You're a tour guide at an art museum. You're telling the story of an artist who lived a long time ago. You want to explain when this person lived. You say this. To put (something) in (some kind of) context, (sentence) "Context" is extra information that helps you to understand something better. For example, if you're listening to someone speaking in a foreign language, their facial expressions and hand gestures give you some context for what they're saying. "Putting ___ in context" means making a topic easier to understand by giving extra information about the time, place, situation, history, and so on. So you can use this expression to introduce contextual information about something: To put it in context, at that time the most powerful personal computers were only able to do simple math equations. To put his speech in cultural context, politicians in India rarely retire. So him announcing that he was leaving the party was rather shocking. This expression sounds very intellectual. Use it when you're giving a speech or lecture. create a piece (of art) Art, such as paintings and classical music compositions, can be counted in "pieces 音乐作品, 乐曲, 曲子": This is one of her most famous pieces. I really like that piece. When you make art, it's called "creating a piece". We talk about art this way: This piece was created by Dali soon after World War II. (someone) is just beginning to (do something) Use the phrase "___ is just beginning to ___" to talk about the early part of something that continues for a long time. For example, if you're talking about a young child who's learning to talk, you can say: She's just beginning to form sentences. You can use this phrase because she's going to continue to talk a lot more after this. Here's another example for talking about a band that's now quite popular: I saw them back in '97 when they were just beginning to become well-known. Europeans explored the New World When Europeans came to North and South America starting at the end of the 1400's, they called it "The New World". When the Europeans went there, they "explored" it by visiting different areas, making maps, searching for valuable things like gold, and so on. We still sometimes call the Americas "The New World" when we are: talking about that period in history, comparing parts of the culture of European countries to countries in North and South America. 2. My knee is acting up 犯病< 不正常, 出毛病, 作妖, 又开始疼 again. Your knee often hurts because of a sports injury you got many years ago. Today it's hurting. Someone asks if something is wrong, so you explain what's happening. (something) is acting up You say that a child who behaves badly is "acting up". We've also extended the meaning of this phrase to talk about objects like cars, computers, body parts, etc. You say that an object is "acting up" when it doesn't work as it's supposed to or causes trouble. For example: A: Argh! B: What's wrong? A: My computer is acting up again. My arthritis hasn't been acting up lately. 3. Rory made the team! Your son wanted to join his school's basketball team. He tried out for it. You just found out that he was successful, and you're passing the news on to your wife. (someone) made the team When someone is selected to join a team, you say that they "made" the team. The word "make" is used in the same way in these expressions: In an audition or tryout 试用 system, each time you go to the next round, you can say that you "made the cut". If you "didn't make the cut", it means that you were eliminated and won't be chosen. If a student gets good grades in school, they might"make the honor roll", which is a list of the top students. You can "make a list" of something. For example: David made the "Top 40 Influential Entrepreneurs" last year. Sometimes it can be confusing whether someone is using "make" in this way or with the meaning of "create". For example: David made the list. This could mean that he was chosen to be on the list, or that he created it. You have to figure out which way it's being used based on the situation. 4. I'd rather not open up that whole can of worms. At work, one of the employees you manage noticed a problem with your software. He asks if you should tell your clients about it. You're afraid that the clients will get upset and have a lot of questions about it. You say this. I'd rather not (do something) "I'd rather not..." means "I don't want to..." People say "I'd rather not..." to talk about something that they don't want to do, although they might have to. For example, if you're shopping for a new car, you can tell the salesperson:I'd rather not go over fifteen thousand. This means that you don't want to spend more than fifteen thousand dollars (or Euros, Pounds, etc.) on the car. However, you know that you might have to spend more than that. If you're in a bad mood, and someone asks you what's wrong, you can respond this way: I'd rather not talk about it. You can also say "I'd rather not" without continuing the sentence: A: We can sleep at the Sutherlands' house and go back in the morning. B: I'd rather not. open up a can of worms Some problems are so difficult that it's best not to even try to talk about them or solve them. When you start trying to fix the problem, it causes many more problems. We call this situation "opening up a can of worms". For example, imagine that you and your sister have been arguing with each other over who should take care of your parents in their old age. For the past few months, you haven't talked about it. Now you and your husband are on your way to eat dinner with your sister's family. You tell your husband: Don't mention anything about my parents. I don't want to open up that can of worms. You say this because you know that you and your sister will get into a long, angry argument if you start talking about that topic. The phrase "a can of worms" is quite common and can be used in casual or formal situations. that whole (something) People sometime talk about things that are complicated, annoying, or difficult with the phrase "that whole ___": I don't know anything about that whole mess. I just let my accountant take care of it. 5. This one's a lot more durable 耐用的, 结实的, 不易坏的 than the old one. You got a new passport. The pages are thicker and can't be ripped easily. You notice this and say something about it to your husband. You say this to your husband (something) is durable A "durable" object doesn't get broken, torn, or cracked easily. Some things that you can describe as "durable" include: durable material, durable plastic, durable fabric. What ever happened to that whole "Occupy Wall Street" business that people were talking about so much a few months ago? Sometimes when English speakers say "that whole ___", they wave their hands in the air in a pushing or sweeping motion away from themselves. 6. We use only the finest ingredients. You're watching a commercial for a frozen pizza. The announcer on the commercial says this. only the (best/finest/highest quality/etc.) In advertisements, companies sometimes brag about having very high standards. To do this, they use the phrase "only the ___": We use only the highest quality water in our beer. We hire only the best and brightest engineers. This phrase suggests that the company doesn't allow anything lower than this standard. People don't use this phrase very often outside of advertisements. the finest ingredients. Ingredients in cooking can be described as "high-quality": The secret to good cooking is to start with fresh, high-quality ingredients. But "the finest ingredients" sounds fancier and even more high-quality. You hear this phrase sometimese in advertisements. Other things that can be described as "fine" include: fine wine, fine silk, fine restaurants, fine jewelry, fine detail. 7. We do not talk about bodily functions at the dinner table! Your daughter says something about farting while your family was eating dinner together. This is rude, so you warn her that she shouldn't say that. bodily functions 身体机能 "Bodily functions" are things that a person's body does which aren't very pleasant. Some bodily functions include: peeing, farting, pooping, burping, digesting food. It's usually not polite to talk about bodily functions. (do something) at the dinner table You can talk this way about things that a person does while eating dinner at home: My wife and I made a rule not to talk about work at the dinner table. How many times do I have to tell you? No cell phones at the dinner table! Of course, for most people the "dinner table" is the same table that they use for breakfast and lunch. At breakfast, you can call it "the breakfast table": I used to rush and do my homework at the breakfast table in the morning. 8. Hold on, hold on. Start at the beginning 重新来, 重新开始, 从头开始. The child that you babysit had some kind of accident. He's upset and crying. He's trying to tell you about the accident, but it doesn't make sense. You tell him to start telling the story again in order. You tell someone to "hold on" when you want them to wait for a short time. You use "hold on" instead of "wait" when the reason for the listener to wait is not that important. In an emergency situation, you would clearly yell "Wait!". But in normal conversation, "hold on" usually fits better. Start at the beginning. Use this expression when someone is trying to explain something that happened, but their story doesn't make sense. This happens when someone gets too excited, too scared, too nervous, etc. You want them to tell the story in order, from beginning to end, so that you can understand it better. 8. The good thing about it is it doesn't need to be watered that often. You bought your girlfriend a potted cactus for her office. You're explaining why you thought it was a good idea for a gift. It's more or less done. You've been working on a cabinet that you're building yourself. Someone asks how it's coming along. You want to tell them that you're 90% finished with it. (something) is more or less 差不多, 基本上 (adjective) The expression "more or less" means "almost" or "basically". When you say that something is "more or less done", it means that it's basically finished. It might need a little more work to be perfectly finished, but it's finished enough. Some other examples of this expression are: more or less the same, more or less equal, more or less finished. You can also use "more or less" at the end of a sentence. For example, after explaining how to do a job to a new employee, you can say: That's it, more or less 大差不差吧. 9. Look, they're in season 应季 now. You bought some strawberries in the spring. They look really good. Now you're taking them out of the grocery bag, and you show them to your daughter. (something) is in season Each type of fruit and vegetable has a certain time of year when it becomes ripe and tastes the best. During that time, you can say that it's "in season". For example: I think pears are in season soon. You can also say that "It's ___ season": It's strawberry season. We should go pick some at the farm down the road. I just caught the tail end of it 只是看了个结尾. Your favorite soccer team played yesterday. You weren't able to watch most of the game, but saw the last few minutes. Now a coworker is asking you if you saw it. This is your answer. catch (a TV show) This is a casual way of describing watching a TV show. When you say "watch (a show)", it sounds neutral. When you say "catch (a show)", it sounds as if the person wanted to watch it. You can also talk about "catching a show" when someone doesn't see all of it. For example: I caught the first few minutes of it, but then I had to leave. In addition to TV shows, you can "catch" things like: other people's conversations, live sporting events, concerts, songs on the radio. the tail end of (something) 结尾 The "tail end" of something means the last part of it. You can talk about the "tail end" of things like: TV shows, meetings, conversations, sentences, concerts. Compared to "the end", "the tail end" is more casual and conversational. 10. He's always jetting off 飞去 to exotic locations in far-off 遥远的 corners of the world. You have a cousin who's a famous photographer. He has a really glamorous job and travels a lot. You're telling a friend about him. jet off to (somewhere) "Jetting" means flying in an airplane. But "jetting off to ___" sounds like something that celebrities and super-rich businesspeople do. They met up in Paris, and then jetted off to Greece for a weekend getaway. an exotic location 异域风情的地方 When Americans talk about an "exotic location", they usually mean somwhere that's far away and hard to get to, but also really nice and expensive. Places that are thought of as "exotic locations" are: beautiful islands, large cities in Europe, Asia, or South America. Places that are residential like small towns are not usually called "exotic". far-off corners of the world This is an expression that means somewhere far away. Use this expression to talk places that are far away but you're not really sure where they are. For example: People from far-off corners of the world come here to study. (someone) is always (doing something) Say that someone "is always ___ing" when a person does something often, and you think it's too much. He's always texting me and asking me to go out with him. Gross! They're always asking me to join the team, but I've got absolutely no interest in playing softball. 11. Pull up a little closer 走近点, 靠近点. You're riding in the back seat of your friend's car. Your friend has stopped at an ATM machine so you can get some cash. The machine is too far away from the car, so you ask him to move the car closer to it. pull up (to something) To "pull up" to something means to get closer to it in a car. For example, you can "pull up" to: a mailbox, a person standing in a parking lot, the front of a store. We ask that all electronic devices be turned off and stowed 收起来, 放起来 at this time. You're on an airplane that's getting ready to take off. A flight attendant is making announcements. She says this, so you have to turn off your mobile phone. stow (something) The verb "stow" means "put". You "stow" something in a place when you want to keep or hide it. The word "stow" is especially used on boats and airplanes. We ask that (someone)(do something) This is a very formal way for a company or organization to ask a group of people to do something. It means "Please ___" but sounds a lot more respectful. Here are some examples: We ask that you refrain from talking during the presentation. We ask that you be patient while we work to address this problem. When you use this structure, the verb is in the simple form: We ask that you wait here. We ask that you be there at 6:00 a.m. Nelly, can you maybe shed a little light on this? You're in a meeting at work. You're leading a discussion about a project which isn't going well. You don't know what's wrong with the project, so you want to ask one of the people who's working on it. shed light on (a topic) The phrase "shed light on ___" means to explain or give information about something that people don't know much about. For example, if there's something broken in your house and you think that your children may have caused it, you can ask them: The lamp seems to be broken. Can anyone shed some light on what happened? News stories often use this expression in headlines. For example: Testimony sheds light on politician's shady dealings. This means that the things that people have said in court ("testimony") has shown some of the dishonest ("shady) things that the politician did. What are you meowing about? Your cat is making noises. You're wondering why. You ask her this. Use this expression when someone has an unusual expression or makes a strange noise. You ask this to find out the reason for the action. What are you smiling about? What are you frowning about? What are you barking about? (a cat) is meowing In English "Meow!" is how we describe the sound that a cat makes. You can turn "meow" into a verb by adding "-ing" to the end: Lucy is meowing. She must be hungry. The cow is mooing. The ducks are quacking. But it doesn't always work. For example, when a dog or a bear is angry, it makes this sound: Grr! But there's a special verb for making this sound, which is "growling [ɡraʊl] 怒吼". I have bags under my eyes 眼袋, don't I? You didn't sleep very much last night. Today you think that you look tired. You ask your friend to find out how bad you really look. (someone) has bags under (their) eyes When someone is tired, the area under their eyes starts to look a little bit darker and more swollen than usual. We call this "having bags under your eyes". Ooh, my leg's asleep 腿麻了, 腿失去知觉了. You've been watching a movie while laying on your sofa in a strange position. Now your leg feels strange and it's hard to move it. You say this to your girlfriend. (someone's) (body part) is asleep When part of your body like your arm, leg, hand, etc. is in a strange position for a while, it starts to feel tingly. It feels like someone is poking it with lots of little needles. You describe this situation by saying that the body part "is asleep": My foot's asleep! You can also say that the body part "went to sleep": My arm's gone to sleep. Can you move over for a minute? Can someone dim the lights? You're about to play a video clip in a presentation. The room is too bright, so you want someone who's standing near the switch to turn the lights down or off. dim the lights The word "dim" means "not bright". So the verb "dim ___" means to reduce the amount of light. You can "dim the lights" in a room, which means to make the room less bright. Sometimes lights have a switch that allows you to dim them without turning them off. If the lights only have an "on/off" switch, then "dimming" the lights means tuning them off. You can also dim things like a computer screen or TV. I'm still on the fence 拿不定主意, 举棋不定. You're trying to decide whether to take a new job or stay at your current job. Someone asks you what you're going to do. (someone) is on the fence When someone is supposed to choose between two things, but hasn't made a choice yet, you can describe them as "on the fence". Imagine that the two choices are areas that are separated by a fence, and someone is sitting on top of the fence between them. You can be "on the fence" about a life decision, such as where to go to college: She's still on the fence between Duke and Yale. Or you can use "on the fence" to talk about someone's opinions on important issues such as politics or religion: A: How do you feel about the war? B: You know, I'm kind of on the fence. The phrase "on the fence" doesn't really carry a positive or negative association, but some people don't like it when people are "on the fence" on important issues. They feel that people should clearly choose a side and stick with it. Other people think that it's important to understand both sides of an issue. The flowers are starting to bloom!You're looking outside of your window while you eat breakfast. It's spring, so there are some flowers now that weren't there before. You write a Facebook message about it. flowers are blooming Flowers start as little buds on a plant. Then they grow larger and open up to reveal the flower. This process is called "blooming". When a plant only has a few open flowers, you can say that it's "starting to bloom". After most of the flowers are fully opened, you can describe it as "in bloom": I see that your tulips are in bloom 盛开, 在开花, 花期 now. And when the flowers start to turn brown, dry up, and go away, you say that they're "wilting 凋落, 凋零, 凋谢 (wilt 发蔫, wither [ˈwɪðər] 干枯 then shrivel 凋落, 发皱, 枯萎, droop 耷拉脑袋)". whittle away 消耗掉, 浪费掉 To whittle away something or whittle away at it means to gradually make it smaller, weaker, or less effective. They have slowly whittled away the opposition. Their approach is to whittle away at the evidence to show reasonable doubt. whittle [ˈwɪt(ə)l] (wilting 凋落, 凋零, 凋谢. wilt 发蔫, wither [ˈwɪðər] 干枯 then shrivel 凋落, 发皱, 枯萎).) I. 木雕. 雕刻. carve (wood) into an object by repeatedly cutting small slices from it. "he was sitting at the tent door, whittling a piece of wood with a knife". "he sat whittling a piece of wood with a knife". If you whittle something from a piece of wood, you carve it by cutting pieces off the wood with a knife. He whittled a new handle for his ax. Chitty sat in his rocking-chair whittling wood. wriggle 七扭八扭的, 扭动着身子 twist and turn with quick writhing movements. to move, or to make something move, by twisting or turning quickly. He desperately tried to wriggle out of his shorts. wriggle out of (doing) something to avoid doing something by making excuses. Don't try and wriggle out of doing your homework. wiggle out of something 扭动着身体逃出来, 扭动着逃脱 I. Lit to get out of something or some place; to squirm out of something or some place. The kitten was able to wiggle out of the cage in which it had been put. The squirrel wiggled out of the trap we caught it in. II. Fig. to manage to get out of a job, the blame for something, or a responsibility. Don't try to wiggle out of your job! You are to blame and don't try to wiggle out of it! writhe [raɪð] ( 抽搐着, 扭动着, squirm蠕动着) to move by twisting and turning, especially when you feel a lot of pain. writhe in pain/agony 抽搐: He writhed in agony on the ground. wither [ˈwɪðər] I. wither away [intransitive] to become weaker or smaller and then disappear. They worry that honoured traditions will wither. Their love was withering away 爱情渐渐消失. II. 枯萎. 干枯. [intransitive] if plants or flowers wither, they become drier and start to die. You'll have to tell me more about it later. Your coworker went on a trip. You ask how it went, and she says that it was a lot of fun. You need to go to a meeting now, but you want to hear more details about the trip. You'll have to (do something) This is one way to ask a friend or acquaintance to do something social. For example: You'll have to come over and visit us sometime. You'll have to send me a copy of that. (When looking at a photo someone took). Use this expression for fun social things. Don't use it to talk about something that a person has to do for work or for large requests. When you pronounce this phrase, don't put stress on "have to". Put the main stress on 强调, 重音放在 the verb, and a little stress on "you". Darn, I don't have anything to peel it with! You brought an avocado to work to eat with your lunch. However, you didn't remember to bring a knife. You say this to yourself. Darn! People say this when they're frustrated or disappointed: Darn! My shirt ripped. I missed my bus. Darn! "Darn!" is a lighter version of the curse word "Damn!" People who don't like to curse can say "darn" instead. Or you can say "darn" if you're around young children, or want to sound polite. A: Can you write this down? B: I don't have anything to write with. This screw is coming loose, but I don't have anything to screw it in with. peel (a fruit or vegetable) "Peeling" a fruit or vegetable means taking the skin off of it, either with a knife or with your hands. I got a flat. You were late for work this morning because you had trouble with one of the tires on your car. You're explaining to your boss why you're late. (someone) got a flat When you're talking about cars and driving, a "flat" means a flat tire: a tire that the air has come out of. You can either say that someone "got a flat tire": I was on time, but then I had to stop because I got a flat tire. ...or you can just say that they "got a flat": Would you know how to change the tire if you got a flat? I can't put up with 受不了 their incessant 无休无止的 bickering 争吵, 吵闹不休. Your roommate and her boyfriend argue a lot. It's really annoying. You complain about it this way to a friend. I can't put up with their incessant bickering. incessant (something) 没完没了的 "Incessant" things are annoying events that keep happening over and over, without stopping. Here are the most common things that we describe as "incessant": incessant demands, incessant noise, incessant whining, incessant chatter. "Incessant" is a somewhat advanced vocabulary word. English speakers who don't read much or didn't learn a lot in school might not use it. bickering "Bickering" means arguing. When you describe an argument as "bickering", it sounds silly, unimportant, and annoying. For example: We used to bicker over which TV shows to watch. Now we each have our own separate TV. "Bickering" also happens between people who know each other well, like family members, couples, and roommates. Restricted area 禁区, 限制区: Do not enter 严禁出入, 不要进, 别进. You're in an airport. There's a closed door with a sign on it. The sign says this. a restricted area A "restricted area" is a place that the general public isn't allowed to enter. Most public buildings have "restricted areas" where only employees are allowed to enter, or only cleaning staff, only administrators, only security guards, and so on. There are also "restricted areas" at outdoor events like concerts and festivals. You know how you were talking about Coldplay coming to town? Well, ta-da! You bought concert tickets for you and your girlfriend. You want to surprise her a little, so you tell her about the tickets this way. You know how (someone) was talking about (a topic)? Well... Use this expression to continue talking about a topic of conversation that you or someone else was talking about earlier. The earlier topic could be from a few minutes ago, or even months ago: You know how Amanda was talking about going on a "caveman diet" a few months ago? Well, I read something about that this morning on the Internet. It actually seems really interesting. (a band or performer) is coming to town When a band, a singer, a comedian, etc. is going to perform near you, you can say that they're "coming to town": Have you heard that Lady Gaga is coming to town next weekend? One time last year, Russel Peters came to town and me and some friends went to see him. You use the word "town" even if you live in a large city. "Ta-da!" is the sound that a magician traditionally makes when he does a magic trick, like pulling a rabbit out of his hat. In modern days, people say this when they reveal a surprise, especially a happy surprise. For example, if you get dressed up really nicely, you can say "Ta-da!" when you show your clothes to your boyfriend or girlfriend. You can also say "Ta-da!" when you unexpectedly give a person something that they wanted: You know how you've been talking about wanting a new teapot? Well, ta-da! Did you know that in Brazil and Peru, voting is compulsory? You're talking with a friend about voting. She mentions that not many people vote in the U.S. You've heard of some countries that make all citizens vote. You share this fact with her. Did you know (clause)? Share interesting facts with other people using sentences starting with "Did you know...?" Did you know that peanuts are not technically nuts? When you share information this way, the listener understands that you think the information is interesting. When you ask "Did you know...?" in this way, the stress is usually on the word "you". (something) is compulsory 强制的 The word "compulsory" means "required". Talk about things that someone is required to do by law this way: In my country, military service is compulsory for all male citizens. Attendance is compulsory. I think they have a compulsory voting system there. The word "compulsory" is very legal-sounding. We don't use it much in daily conversation. I hope we can still be friends. You're breaking up with a guy that you've been dating for a few months. You like him, but you're not attracted to him romantically. You want to break up with him without hurting his feelings, so you say this. I hope (clause) English learners often confuse "I hope" and "I wish". Use "I hope" when there's a good chance that something might happen. One way it's used is to say what you want to happen in the future. For example: I hope we win tomorrow night. There's a good possibility that your team will be able to win. So you use "I hope..." "I wish" is used to talk about things you want that aren't true or very unlikely. So after your team loses the game, you say: I wish we'd won. Or, if your team is really bad and you don't think you're likely to win, you can say something like: I wish we'd win a few games. Another point about using "I hope" is that you follow it with the present tense of a verb, even when you're talking about the future. So you say: I hope we win. ...not "I hope we'll win.". OK, let me take attendance 点名, 查出席率 and then we'll get started. You're a middle school teacher. It's the beginning of class. You have to find out who's in class. You say this. (a teacher) takes attendance To "attend" something means to go to it. For example, you "attend" classes, meetings, and so on. In school, teachers sometimes "take attendance". This means that they write down who's in class and who's missing. They often do this at the beginning of class, before they start teaching. The dress code is business casual. You're organizing a networking event for a professional group that you belong to. You're sending an invitation to the members of your group. At the end of the invitation, you want to tell everyone how to dress. the dress code A "dress code" is a set of rules about how people are supposed to dress. For example, a dress code might require all men to wear a necktie, or might forbid people from wearing a hat. Schools sometimes have dress codes for their students; businesses have a dress code for their employees. Some places like clubs and golf courses also have a dress code. After everything I've done for you, you turn around and stab me in the back like this? You have a friend who you've helped out in the past. Now you find out that she's applied for a job that you were trying to get, without telling you. You feel betrayed, so you say this. After everything I've done for you, you (do something bad)? You can say this to someone who you've helped out a lot, when they do something like complain about you: A: You never take me out to eat. B: After everything I've done for you, you complain about me not taking you out to eat? I can't believe you. Or if someone lies to you: After everything I've done for you, you're going to sit here and lie right to my face!? This is a really emotional, dramatic expression. Use it when you feel really annoyed or angry with someone. (someone) turns around and (does something) This phrase describes a person doing something unexpected. For example: She gave it to him for free, and then he turns around and sells it for a thousand dollars. I saw her break it with my own eyes, and then she turned around and acted like she didn't know anything about it. It's often used for unexpected bad actions, but it can also introduce surprising positive things as well: He was shooting horribly until half time. Than in the second half, he turns around and scores 24 points. stab (someone) in the back "Stabbing someone in the back" means betraying them. In other words, you act friendly toward them but secretly do things to hurt them. We call a person who does this "a backstabber". She didn't even break a sweat. You played tennis against your mother-in-law. She's a really good player, so she beat you easily. Now you're telling your father-in-law what happened. This means that a person did something without sweating. I used to be able to run five miles without breaking a sweat. These days, though, I get tired a lot more easily. It can also mean doing something easily. For example: She can already solve complex math problems in her head without breaking a sweat. Sorry, the ink smeared (smudged) a little 涂抹, 墨水洇湿. You're giving a friend a gift for her baby shower. You wrote a note on a card, but you accidentally touched it while the ink was wet. You apologize for the messy writing when you give her the gift. (something) smeared When something like ink or paint gets wiped or spread around on a surface, you say that it "smeared". Other things that can "smear" include: makeup, toothpaste, sauces. Here's how "smear" fits in a sentence: I accidentally smeared the ink. My lipstick smeared. There's pasta sauce smeared all over your shirt! Another word with a similar meaning (but less common) is "smudged". No, I couldn't possibly. I'm so stuffed. You just ate a big meal at a friend's house. Your friend offers you some more food, but you're too full. You say this to refuse. I couldn't possibly! Say this when someone offers you something, and you want to politely refuse (or pretend to refuse). For example: A: Here, I want you to have this. B: Oh no, I couldn't possibly! A: No, take it. I insist! The sentence is a shortened version of "I couldn't possibly (accept that)!" It sounds quite formal. I'm stuffed! The phrase "I'm stuffed!" means that your stomach is very, very full. You can use this expression when you've eaten too much food. It's OK to use with anyone - friends, coworkers, clients, family, and so on. One word of warning: the phrase "Get stuffed!" is a rude expression that you say to someone that you're angry at. So it's probably not a good idea to tell other people that they should "get stuffed". Just use this expression to describe yourself when you're too full. Angelo is a real pleasure to work with. He's extremely meticulous 细心的. You hired a designer to make business cards for you from the website. He did a great job, so you're leaving a positive review. You write this on the review. (someone) is a pleasure to work with This is a set phrase that you can use to talk about someone that you like working with. You can write this about a coworker, a client, or an employer in places like recommendation letters. Another version that you might come across is: He is an absolute pleasure to work with. (someone) is meticulous Being "meticulous" means being very careful to do things the right way. It means paying attention to details. For example, a meticulous student might take lots of notes in class and then organize them at home. "Meticulous" is a positive word. A negative word to describe someone who pays attention to details is "fussy": She can be rather fussy about money.
British Coppers
The British police forces, since there's not one national one, are the oldest such organised ones in the world. Officially they are now "police services" rather than "forces". The first modern police force was London Town's Metropolitan Police was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829. Peel has the Met's training centre at Hendon (featured in Hot Fuzz) named after him and his name is the source of two of the British English terms for police officers. These are the now-defunct "peelers" (except in Northern Ireland, where it is still used) and the slightly less defunct "bobbies". The boys and girls in black: The British police are known for their distinctive helmets. Pictured above, they are properly called 'custodian helmets'. They are good for, among other things, covering up a naked man's offensive bits and give rise to the derogatory term "tithead". These are worn by male constables and sergeants on foot patrol. Other male officers wear a peaked cap, while women wear a bowler hat. Some services (including Scotland's) have replaced the custodian helmet altogether, but they are still seen on ceremonial occasions such as Remembrance Day parades. The classic blue serge uniforms of old, being classic fanservice if worn by a female, have also gone from everyday use. Nowadays, police uniforms are black. Until the 2000s, officers wore a white shirt with a black tie with women wearing either the tie or a black/white chequered cravat. Senior officers continue to wear white shirts and ties/cravats, but most forces have moved the rank-and-file officers to wearing black t-shirts with a stab vest 防弹背心. Officers who are out on the beat will very often wear a yellow hi-vis jacket over this. Another widespread symbol of policing is 'Sillitoe tartan' - a pattern of black and white chequers. The pattern appears on the hatbands and sometimes other places on an officer's uniform, as well as other police-related places such as logos and decorations. It is named after a former police chief who introduced it in Glasgow in the 1930s to make officers easily identifiable. The Sillitoe tartan also inspired the police car 'Battenberg' livery, with square panels of hi-vis blue and yellow.
British uniformed police use the following ranks, in rising order of authority/seniority:
Police Constable (PC): a.k.a. "bobby". Rank-and-file police officer, like the American rank of Officer. Not a detective. Normally in uniform, sometimes in plainclothes; CID (the detectives) may refer to them as either "uniforms" or the less common "woodentops" (in reference to the iconic helmets worn by beat officers).
Police Sergeant (Sgt or PS): The corporal of the police services. Sergeants fill a number of roles, usually as a kind of "group manager" for the constables. The first step up the greasy pole of promotion. A common position to find a uniform Sergeant in would be at the charge desk in the cell area of a police station (usually referred to as the "desk sergeant", even if others of the same rank are also desk-bound). Usually, a television Police Procedural will depict (at least) one of the uniform Sergeants as the kindly old "seen it all before"见过一切 copper who the younger officers see as a kind of father figure. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of the same name.
Police Inspector (Insp): The manager of 3-5 uniform teams that work the same shift, and the highest rank that has to do shift work 值班. Mostly a desk bound position, although a Uniform Inspector can still regularly be called out to any kind of major incident. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of Lieutenant.
Chief Inspector (Ch Insp): An 'operations manager' of a police station. Indeed, many uniform Chief Inspectors will have the subtitle "Chief Inspector of Operations", followed by the station at which they're based. The Chief Inspector is an entirely desk bound job. His/her duties seldom involve actually going out on the street, and most usually involve endless meetings with community groups. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of Captain.
Superintendent (Supt): The overall boss of a large police station, a "super" is mostly an administrator; they may also direct the tactical response to a major incident. Superintendents and higher officers have a few special powers such as allowing a suspect to be detained beyond the usual 24-hour time limit. Most American police forces are too small to have an equivalent, but it would be Major or Inspector in most that do.
Chief Superintendent (Ch Supt): In most forces, the commander for the highest geographic subdivision of the force's territory. These used to be called 'Divisions' but these days are more often called 'Basic Command Units'. In the Met, they are instead in charge of a borough. A "Chief Super" will often be a long serving officer whose days on the beat are far behind them. Many officers who reach this position are not far from retirement.
Uniformed Police Chiefs include: Officers of these ranks are informally called the 'chief officers', though only the commissioners and chief constables are actual chiefs of a police force.
Commander (CMDR): A rank that exists only in the Met and City of London forces and has the same insignia as an Assistant Chief Constable. In the latter it is fully equivalent to an ACC. In the Met, it is an extra level of command between the chief supers and the Commissioner's assistants. If you meet a Commander in fiction it will probably be on the way out of a brothel and they stand a good chance of being a corrupt sexual deviant and will probably end up dead in a very messy way. Commander Gideon is an outstanding exception. You may also hear references to "Borough Commanders" who are, confusingly enough, Chief Superintendents.
Commissioner: The overall chief of the Met and City of London forces. Because of the Met's size and extra responsibilities, its Commissioner is the highest profile police officer in the country, and the appointment of a new Commissioner attracts much media coverage. Not to be confused with the elected position of Police and Crime Commissioner, who is independent from the service they're attached to and manages how their funds are spent. The Met Commissioner has a deputy, assistants and deputy assistants. The City of London police has one Assistant Commissioner. The Met's Assistant Commissioners wear the same insignia as a provincial Chief Constable and have as high a media profile. The Assistant Commissioner for Special Operations is the UK's most senior counter-terrorism cop.
Chief Constable: In all other forces they replace the titles of Commissioner. Other than that there is no real difference. Chief Constables have a deputy and at least one assistant. Police Scotland is the only one to have multiple deputies. Often, the Chief Constable will mediate between their police force, governments, media and public, while their deputy handles the day-to-day running of the force.
Detectives (from the 'Criminal Investigation Department', or CID) use a similar system, but with different connotations in fiction:
Detective Constable (DC): roughly equivalent to the American rank of Detective. Bottom of the totem pole: that's why DC "Dangerous" Davies is so pathetic—he's experienced and quite competent, but has never been promoted above DC.
Detective Sergeant (DS): as with their uniformed counterparts, responsible for a group of DCs.
Detective Inspector (DI): an experienced and seasoned detective. May have DCs reporting to him/her as well as DSs. Sometimes used as a rank for fictional detectives, DIs lead investigations into serious crimes, but not a crime as serious as murder.
Detective Chief Inspector (DCI): the highest-ranked detective in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of a large town police station, or else in charge of a specialist unit at the force HQ. The most common rank for fictional detectives, as this is the lowest rank of officer who can lead a murder investigation. However, the real life job is less 'hands-on' than it is in fiction. For example, the jobs of examining the scene and interviewing suspects are usually done by experienced DCs, with the DCI running it from behind the scenes.
Detective Superintendent (DSupt or DSU): Mostly an administrator but may also lead a serious crime's investigation. A force will typically have one who manages the performance of the local CIDs and others who manage the specialist units that are based at force HQ. These units are called in to deal with serious crimes or those that require specialised detectives.
Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS): The highest detective rank, answerable to the uniformed chiefs. Most regional forces have just one DCS, as the overall boss of their detective branch.
Note that unlike American police forces, these ranks avoid sharing the names of military ranks (apart from Sergeant). This dates to when Peel named the ranks in the Metropolitan Police, and he wanted to console people's fears that they would be a paramilitary. In decades past, female police officers had "W" prepended to their rank, e.g. WPC Annie Cartwright (Life On Mars). This is no longer the case, although the media doesn't always get the hint.
The British bobby (male or female) and their CID partners have had several stereotypes over the years:
Evening All
Modern Bobby
Old-Fashioned Copper: A British police officer who entered the force before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. There is something of a spectrum within this trope, with the unifying theme being a hankering ( A hankering for something is a desire or longing for it. From time to time we all get a hankering for something a little different. [+ for/after] ) for direct policing methods unhampered ( hamper verb 限制, 束缚手脚, 绑住手脚 hinder, handicap, hold up, prevent. If someone or something hampers you, they make it difficult for you to do what you are trying to do. to prevent something from happening or progressing normally The search was hampered 阻碍 by heavy snowfall. The bad weather hampered rescue operations. I was hampered by a lack of information. noun. I. A hamper is a basket containing food of various kinds that is given to people as a present. ...a luxury food hamper. II. A hamper is a large basket with a lid, used especially for carrying food in. a special container used for carrying the food and the things that you need for a picnic. ...a picnic hamper/basket.) by such niceties as paperwork and the rights of suspects. Or, come to that (come to that (or if it comes to that) 说起来的话, 论起来的话 in fact (said to introduce an additional point). "I owe you a fiver, don't I?" "Yes, and come to that, you never paid me back the other money I lent you." "there isn't a clock on the mantelpiece—come to that, there isn't a mantelpiece!"), the feelings of victims. At the one extreme are those with a tendency to favour "old fashioned" methods of policing, which usually involve beating up suspects, fabricating confessions (a process known as "verballing" ( verbal noun. I. (plural) slang abuse or invective (insulting language or swearing) new forms of on-field verbals 口头侮辱. II. (plural) slang a criminal's admission of guilt on arrest. verb. (of the police) to implicate (someone) in a crime by quoting alleged admission of guilt in court. )) and planting evidence. Being corrupt, misogynist, racist etc. is optional. Basically, the British version of the Cowboy Cop. At the other end 另一种极端 is the Dixon of Dock Green trope, an even more old-fashioned police officer from the days when (at least on television) policemen wouldn't even think about doing the illegal or corrupt, but were permitted to use much more force (both physical and psychological) than is perceived to be acceptable today. Such an Old-Fashioned Copper will likely be The Cape (or one of them) of the franchise — with such a deeply-ingrained sense of fair play, there are few other possibilities for such a person. But he may also take thinly disguised glee in the bad guys getting their comeuppance [ˌkʌmˈʌpəns]. Nor would he be above giving (say) a ten-year-old a "clip round the ear", sure in the knowledge that if the child's parents found out they would face much worse. British cop shows found many intermediates between these extremes and often had characters representing different versions within the same show.
Politics Obsessed Superior:
Smith of the Yard: Most detectives in fiction barely get recognition. Gil Grissom, Jack Malone and Sam Spade could happily walk into a bookshop in their respective cities, seduce the owner and leave without being recognized. Not so for Smiths of the Yard. They are very well-known. The newspapers follow their activities. When there is a major crime and they are involved, the papers will say, "Smith of the Yard is on the case". If they're not and the crimes are particularly diabolical, the papers will call for their involvement. And needless to say, he (Almost) Always Gets His Man. In Real Life, the Yard is Scotland Yard, headquarters for the Metropolitan Police of Greater London. The Yard has become synonymous with police to the extent that any police version of the Nations of the World Montage will feature a shot of the New Scotland Yard sign.
Police Powers: An interesting side note is that while there is a perception that officers who graduate from uniform to CID detective have undergone a 'promotion', this is not strictly true - becoming a detective is a specialisation, not a promotion. Uniform officers actually have greater powers 有更大的权利 in the United Kingdom in the sense that police have to be wearing uniform to use certain powers (e.g. making a traffic stop). The person in charge of the cells will be a uniform officer (normally a sergeant), while the detectives go about collecting evidence and interviewing suspects. This is a marked difference to the American style of policing: in the UK, a move from uniform Constable to Detective Constable is more of a sideways step 平调 ( I. in a direction to the left or right, not forwards or backwards: The fence is leaning sideways. If you would move sideways to the left, I can get everyone in the picture. II. If you look at something sideways, you do not look at it directly. ) than any kind of promotion, while the American model sees "earning your detective badge" as being a step up 升职. Still, the perception persists that detectives are somehow "better" than uniform because the responsibilities of their work are usually more varied, and they are seen as exercising their brains while their uniform counterparts are seen as the dumb muscle. Until fairly recently, there was a rule in the police service known as "tenure". This rule basically stipulated that if a detective has been serving in the CID for a decade without them making any progress up the ranks then they would be put back into uniform as a means to make sure they aren't getting complacent 不思进取, 怡然自得, 太舒服了([kəmˈpleɪs(ə)nt] too confident and relaxed because you think you can deal with something easily, even though this may not be true. These results are good, but we cannot afford to be complacent.). More than one detective actually chose to resign rather than face the (supposedly) humiliating move back into uniform division. No Guns Please, We're British Police Officers: Most British police officers do not carry guns. This dates back to the founding of the first Police force in Victorian London: citizens were strongly opposed to the idea of lawmen patrolling the streets, so they were designed to be as PR-friendly as possible. The Police themselves, the Police Federation (the Union for rank and file officers) and the general public are all strongly against the routine arming of police officers in modern times. For the police, the reasons for this are twofold: a) it enables officers to get a lot more hands-on in taking down a suspect, rather than resorting to pepper-spray or a taser, because they don't have to worry about the perp trying to grab their gun and b) if the police were armed, they would have to train officers in how to use them. This would mean laying off everyone who failed to qualify, or accepting Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy levels of skill at arms. As "ordinary" British criminals generally do not carry firearms either this is not a major limitation. Most officers instead carry a baton. This is often called a truncheon, though this term specifically refers to the traditional 14-inch wooden baton. These days, a 21-inch collapsible baton is more common. That said, police forces do have units of armed officers who can respond to a scene if guns are needed. These include CO19 (formerly SO19, until it got moved in the MPS structure) for the Metropolitan Police, and are generally referred to simply as the Armed Response Unit by regional forces. These officers are regularly issued semi-automatic weapons for special duties and are authorised to shoot armed suspects without prior warning in special circumstances. A semiautomatic-only version of the famous Heckler & Koch MP5 was the most common shoulder-arm until relatively recently, but 5.56mm carbines such as the H&K G36 or Steyr AUG have begun to displace the aging 'Hockler'. Minimum qualifications for membership of these units are comparable to that of a SWAT team in a major US city. Interestingly, despite the significantly smaller quantity of firearms in circulation in the United Kingdom and unlike some US forces, a ballistic vest is part of every British police officer's uniform and taking it off while on duty can be a disciplinary offence if they're currently compulsory (for instance after a firearms incident, or gang violence is expected, or by default in most parts of London). This is because it's also an anti-stab vest. Additionally, unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, where officers only carry guns for certain duties, police officers in Northern Ireland are always armed when out on duty. For obvious reasons. Police Forces Or Services: The British police force that is by far the most often portrayed in fiction is the Metropolitan Police Service ("the Met" or "Scotland Yard"). It polices almost all of Greater London, apart from the tiny central area that is policed by the City of London Police. In fiction the Met tends to be horribly corrupt and sometimes being worse criminals than the people they arrest and has poor relationships with the other forces (in the past, at least, this was very much Truth in Television, but it is still a popular fiction trope). The English and Welsh police are divided up into regional constabularies. Most of the remaining constabularies cover either a metropolitan area, a county or a couple of counties. The Scottish police used to be the same, but they were combined into a single force called Police Scotland in 2013. Northern Ireland also has a single force, the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
There are some other forces though:
British Transport Police: deal with policing on the rail network.
Ministry of Defence Police: a civilian force, who protect MOD sites, such as ports like HMNB Clyde, home of the British nuclear deterrent (a place, for obvious reasons, that people break into a lot). All officers are armed when on duty.
The Royal Military Police, the Royal Navy's Regulating Branch, and the RAF Police have all been folded under the same banner as Service Police with the introduction of the 2009 Armed Forces Act; although keeping the same names they now have a common set of regulations. As their names suggest, they are each a military police for a different section of the armed forces
The Civil Nuclear Constabulary: If it's nuclear and not a weapon (which are the problem of the MOD police) then this lot are responsible for protecting it. Unlike pretty much all other police in the UK, these guys are heavily armed, regular patrol issue including G36 assault rifles, Glock sidearms, tasers, ASP batons, CS spray and 30mm Autocannons.note
Units
Special Branch: "Special Branch" was a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, and work in close concert with MI-5, who do not have any powers of arrest or detention. The Metropolitan Police Special Branch was merged with the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Metropolitan Police to form a new department called Counter Terrorism Command. The Special Branch has been derided as the "Political Police", as they are given the politically sensitive cases. People tend to think that can include doing the bidding of the party in power in legally questionable ways. In reality, this translates to infiltrating far-left and far-right groups, regardless of whether or not the groups in question are lawbreakers. They have also been criticized for suggesting illegal protest actions and sleeping with the people they're supposed to be protecting, then leaving without the consequences. The Special Branch should not be confused with Special Constables, who are part-time volunteers.
Other notable or well-known units:
Special Constabulary: Special constables are part-time volunteers, who are expected to work at least one shift per 1-2 weeks. There are some variations in how police services organise their special constabulary. Most often, they give their specials a separate command structure with equivalent ranks (Special Constable, Special Sergeant, etc.), but different rank insignia. The highest-ranked special in the force is the "Chief Officer", who is also a special constable.
Flying Squad: A elite detective unit in the Met who target robberies. So named because unlike most officers, they travel freely across division/borough boundaries. The only place where detectives carry guns, their most daring work involves disrupting heists in progress. Made famous in The Sweeney.
Operation Trident ( 三叉戟 [ˈtraɪd(ə)nt] a weapon made of three sharp points on a long pole, used in the past. ): The Met's gang crime unit.
Public Order Unit: Specialist riot policing units.
Neighbourhood Policing Team: Known by several names, these are small teams of officers and PCSOs (see below) who carry out community policing in local neighbourhoods. They sometimes respond to emergencies, but are more likely to be involved in endless community meetings and preventative work.
Joint Units: Police forces can merge certain departments. Traffic policing units have frequently been merged, as their officers tend to operate over a much wider area. Joint units have become increasingly used as a means to save money.
Officer numbers
Uniformed officers traditionally haven't worn name badges, but instead have worn ID numbers on their epaulettes. These are known as "collar numbers", as they used to be worn on the collar. There have been recent scandals where uniformed officers have removed these epaulettes before expected public disorder situations. In the Met, it's generally two or three numbers, followed by one or two letters representing your borough or command unit - so an officer from Havering (KD) might be 719KD. (Met epaulettes display this upside down, with the command unit code above the numbers.) Provincial forces tend to have just numbers on their epaulettes. Only Constables and Sergeants have these ID numbers on their epaulettes. More senior officers will instead have a rank insignia on their epaulettes. Times are always changing, however, and since the 2000s some forces have required public-facing officers to wear name badges. In case anyone is interested, the reason they traditionally don't wear nametags is because officers with unusual or embarrassing names (Pratt, Dick, etc) would be subject to ridicule by antisocial types.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs): A creation of the Blair government, PCSOs (you might hear the name "Blunkett's Bobbies", after David Blunkett, the then Home Secretary) are uniformed civilians with blue epaulettes and limited powers (basically to detain you until an actual constable arrives). They were felt by some to be a cheap way to either boost police numbers, or, in more recent years, to maintain them. Despite being some of the most visible members of the police force, their appearances in fiction have been very little, but usually mocked mercilessly. One term, employed by Private Eye among others, is 'plastic police'.
British uniformed police use the following ranks, in rising order of authority/seniority:
Police Constable (PC): a.k.a. "bobby". Rank-and-file police officer, like the American rank of Officer. Not a detective. Normally in uniform, sometimes in plainclothes; CID (the detectives) may refer to them as either "uniforms" or the less common "woodentops" (in reference to the iconic helmets worn by beat officers).
Police Sergeant (Sgt or PS): The corporal of the police services. Sergeants fill a number of roles, usually as a kind of "group manager" for the constables. The first step up the greasy pole of promotion. A common position to find a uniform Sergeant in would be at the charge desk in the cell area of a police station (usually referred to as the "desk sergeant", even if others of the same rank are also desk-bound). Usually, a television Police Procedural will depict (at least) one of the uniform Sergeants as the kindly old "seen it all before"见过一切 copper who the younger officers see as a kind of father figure. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of the same name.
Police Inspector (Insp): The manager of 3-5 uniform teams that work the same shift, and the highest rank that has to do shift work 值班. Mostly a desk bound position, although a Uniform Inspector can still regularly be called out to any kind of major incident. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of Lieutenant.
Chief Inspector (Ch Insp): An 'operations manager' of a police station. Indeed, many uniform Chief Inspectors will have the subtitle "Chief Inspector of Operations", followed by the station at which they're based. The Chief Inspector is an entirely desk bound job. His/her duties seldom involve actually going out on the street, and most usually involve endless meetings with community groups. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of Captain.
Superintendent (Supt): The overall boss of a large police station, a "super" is mostly an administrator; they may also direct the tactical response to a major incident. Superintendents and higher officers have a few special powers such as allowing a suspect to be detained beyond the usual 24-hour time limit. Most American police forces are too small to have an equivalent, but it would be Major or Inspector in most that do.
Chief Superintendent (Ch Supt): In most forces, the commander for the highest geographic subdivision of the force's territory. These used to be called 'Divisions' but these days are more often called 'Basic Command Units'. In the Met, they are instead in charge of a borough. A "Chief Super" will often be a long serving officer whose days on the beat are far behind them. Many officers who reach this position are not far from retirement.
Uniformed Police Chiefs include: Officers of these ranks are informally called the 'chief officers', though only the commissioners and chief constables are actual chiefs of a police force.
Commander (CMDR): A rank that exists only in the Met and City of London forces and has the same insignia as an Assistant Chief Constable. In the latter it is fully equivalent to an ACC. In the Met, it is an extra level of command between the chief supers and the Commissioner's assistants. If you meet a Commander in fiction it will probably be on the way out of a brothel and they stand a good chance of being a corrupt sexual deviant and will probably end up dead in a very messy way. Commander Gideon is an outstanding exception. You may also hear references to "Borough Commanders" who are, confusingly enough, Chief Superintendents.
Commissioner: The overall chief of the Met and City of London forces. Because of the Met's size and extra responsibilities, its Commissioner is the highest profile police officer in the country, and the appointment of a new Commissioner attracts much media coverage. Not to be confused with the elected position of Police and Crime Commissioner, who is independent from the service they're attached to and manages how their funds are spent. The Met Commissioner has a deputy, assistants and deputy assistants. The City of London police has one Assistant Commissioner. The Met's Assistant Commissioners wear the same insignia as a provincial Chief Constable and have as high a media profile. The Assistant Commissioner for Special Operations is the UK's most senior counter-terrorism cop.
Chief Constable: In all other forces they replace the titles of Commissioner. Other than that there is no real difference. Chief Constables have a deputy and at least one assistant. Police Scotland is the only one to have multiple deputies. Often, the Chief Constable will mediate between their police force, governments, media and public, while their deputy handles the day-to-day running of the force.
Detectives (from the 'Criminal Investigation Department', or CID) use a similar system, but with different connotations in fiction:
Detective Constable (DC): roughly equivalent to the American rank of Detective. Bottom of the totem pole: that's why DC "Dangerous" Davies is so pathetic—he's experienced and quite competent, but has never been promoted above DC.
Detective Sergeant (DS): as with their uniformed counterparts, responsible for a group of DCs.
Detective Inspector (DI): an experienced and seasoned detective. May have DCs reporting to him/her as well as DSs. Sometimes used as a rank for fictional detectives, DIs lead investigations into serious crimes, but not a crime as serious as murder.
Detective Chief Inspector (DCI): the highest-ranked detective in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of a large town police station, or else in charge of a specialist unit at the force HQ. The most common rank for fictional detectives, as this is the lowest rank of officer who can lead a murder investigation. However, the real life job is less 'hands-on' than it is in fiction. For example, the jobs of examining the scene and interviewing suspects are usually done by experienced DCs, with the DCI running it from behind the scenes.
Detective Superintendent (DSupt or DSU): Mostly an administrator but may also lead a serious crime's investigation. A force will typically have one who manages the performance of the local CIDs and others who manage the specialist units that are based at force HQ. These units are called in to deal with serious crimes or those that require specialised detectives.
Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS): The highest detective rank, answerable to the uniformed chiefs. Most regional forces have just one DCS, as the overall boss of their detective branch.
Note that unlike American police forces, these ranks avoid sharing the names of military ranks (apart from Sergeant). This dates to when Peel named the ranks in the Metropolitan Police, and he wanted to console people's fears that they would be a paramilitary. In decades past, female police officers had "W" prepended to their rank, e.g. WPC Annie Cartwright (Life On Mars). This is no longer the case, although the media doesn't always get the hint.
The British bobby (male or female) and their CID partners have had several stereotypes over the years:
Evening All
Modern Bobby
Old-Fashioned Copper: A British police officer who entered the force before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. There is something of a spectrum within this trope, with the unifying theme being a hankering ( A hankering for something is a desire or longing for it. From time to time we all get a hankering for something a little different. [+ for/after] ) for direct policing methods unhampered ( hamper verb 限制, 束缚手脚, 绑住手脚 hinder, handicap, hold up, prevent. If someone or something hampers you, they make it difficult for you to do what you are trying to do. to prevent something from happening or progressing normally The search was hampered 阻碍 by heavy snowfall. The bad weather hampered rescue operations. I was hampered by a lack of information. noun. I. A hamper is a basket containing food of various kinds that is given to people as a present. ...a luxury food hamper. II. A hamper is a large basket with a lid, used especially for carrying food in. a special container used for carrying the food and the things that you need for a picnic. ...a picnic hamper/basket.) by such niceties as paperwork and the rights of suspects. Or, come to that (come to that (or if it comes to that) 说起来的话, 论起来的话 in fact (said to introduce an additional point). "I owe you a fiver, don't I?" "Yes, and come to that, you never paid me back the other money I lent you." "there isn't a clock on the mantelpiece—come to that, there isn't a mantelpiece!"), the feelings of victims. At the one extreme are those with a tendency to favour "old fashioned" methods of policing, which usually involve beating up suspects, fabricating confessions (a process known as "verballing" ( verbal noun. I. (plural) slang abuse or invective (insulting language or swearing) new forms of on-field verbals 口头侮辱. II. (plural) slang a criminal's admission of guilt on arrest. verb. (of the police) to implicate (someone) in a crime by quoting alleged admission of guilt in court. )) and planting evidence. Being corrupt, misogynist, racist etc. is optional. Basically, the British version of the Cowboy Cop. At the other end 另一种极端 is the Dixon of Dock Green trope, an even more old-fashioned police officer from the days when (at least on television) policemen wouldn't even think about doing the illegal or corrupt, but were permitted to use much more force (both physical and psychological) than is perceived to be acceptable today. Such an Old-Fashioned Copper will likely be The Cape (or one of them) of the franchise — with such a deeply-ingrained sense of fair play, there are few other possibilities for such a person. But he may also take thinly disguised glee in the bad guys getting their comeuppance [ˌkʌmˈʌpəns]. Nor would he be above giving (say) a ten-year-old a "clip round the ear", sure in the knowledge that if the child's parents found out they would face much worse. British cop shows found many intermediates between these extremes and often had characters representing different versions within the same show.
Politics Obsessed Superior:
Smith of the Yard: Most detectives in fiction barely get recognition. Gil Grissom, Jack Malone and Sam Spade could happily walk into a bookshop in their respective cities, seduce the owner and leave without being recognized. Not so for Smiths of the Yard. They are very well-known. The newspapers follow their activities. When there is a major crime and they are involved, the papers will say, "Smith of the Yard is on the case". If they're not and the crimes are particularly diabolical, the papers will call for their involvement. And needless to say, he (Almost) Always Gets His Man. In Real Life, the Yard is Scotland Yard, headquarters for the Metropolitan Police of Greater London. The Yard has become synonymous with police to the extent that any police version of the Nations of the World Montage will feature a shot of the New Scotland Yard sign.
Police Powers: An interesting side note is that while there is a perception that officers who graduate from uniform to CID detective have undergone a 'promotion', this is not strictly true - becoming a detective is a specialisation, not a promotion. Uniform officers actually have greater powers 有更大的权利 in the United Kingdom in the sense that police have to be wearing uniform to use certain powers (e.g. making a traffic stop). The person in charge of the cells will be a uniform officer (normally a sergeant), while the detectives go about collecting evidence and interviewing suspects. This is a marked difference to the American style of policing: in the UK, a move from uniform Constable to Detective Constable is more of a sideways step 平调 ( I. in a direction to the left or right, not forwards or backwards: The fence is leaning sideways. If you would move sideways to the left, I can get everyone in the picture. II. If you look at something sideways, you do not look at it directly. ) than any kind of promotion, while the American model sees "earning your detective badge" as being a step up 升职. Still, the perception persists that detectives are somehow "better" than uniform because the responsibilities of their work are usually more varied, and they are seen as exercising their brains while their uniform counterparts are seen as the dumb muscle. Until fairly recently, there was a rule in the police service known as "tenure". This rule basically stipulated that if a detective has been serving in the CID for a decade without them making any progress up the ranks then they would be put back into uniform as a means to make sure they aren't getting complacent 不思进取, 怡然自得, 太舒服了([kəmˈpleɪs(ə)nt] too confident and relaxed because you think you can deal with something easily, even though this may not be true. These results are good, but we cannot afford to be complacent.). More than one detective actually chose to resign rather than face the (supposedly) humiliating move back into uniform division. No Guns Please, We're British Police Officers: Most British police officers do not carry guns. This dates back to the founding of the first Police force in Victorian London: citizens were strongly opposed to the idea of lawmen patrolling the streets, so they were designed to be as PR-friendly as possible. The Police themselves, the Police Federation (the Union for rank and file officers) and the general public are all strongly against the routine arming of police officers in modern times. For the police, the reasons for this are twofold: a) it enables officers to get a lot more hands-on in taking down a suspect, rather than resorting to pepper-spray or a taser, because they don't have to worry about the perp trying to grab their gun and b) if the police were armed, they would have to train officers in how to use them. This would mean laying off everyone who failed to qualify, or accepting Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy levels of skill at arms. As "ordinary" British criminals generally do not carry firearms either this is not a major limitation. Most officers instead carry a baton. This is often called a truncheon, though this term specifically refers to the traditional 14-inch wooden baton. These days, a 21-inch collapsible baton is more common. That said, police forces do have units of armed officers who can respond to a scene if guns are needed. These include CO19 (formerly SO19, until it got moved in the MPS structure) for the Metropolitan Police, and are generally referred to simply as the Armed Response Unit by regional forces. These officers are regularly issued semi-automatic weapons for special duties and are authorised to shoot armed suspects without prior warning in special circumstances. A semiautomatic-only version of the famous Heckler & Koch MP5 was the most common shoulder-arm until relatively recently, but 5.56mm carbines such as the H&K G36 or Steyr AUG have begun to displace the aging 'Hockler'. Minimum qualifications for membership of these units are comparable to that of a SWAT team in a major US city. Interestingly, despite the significantly smaller quantity of firearms in circulation in the United Kingdom and unlike some US forces, a ballistic vest is part of every British police officer's uniform and taking it off while on duty can be a disciplinary offence if they're currently compulsory (for instance after a firearms incident, or gang violence is expected, or by default in most parts of London). This is because it's also an anti-stab vest. Additionally, unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, where officers only carry guns for certain duties, police officers in Northern Ireland are always armed when out on duty. For obvious reasons. Police Forces Or Services: The British police force that is by far the most often portrayed in fiction is the Metropolitan Police Service ("the Met" or "Scotland Yard"). It polices almost all of Greater London, apart from the tiny central area that is policed by the City of London Police. In fiction the Met tends to be horribly corrupt and sometimes being worse criminals than the people they arrest and has poor relationships with the other forces (in the past, at least, this was very much Truth in Television, but it is still a popular fiction trope). The English and Welsh police are divided up into regional constabularies. Most of the remaining constabularies cover either a metropolitan area, a county or a couple of counties. The Scottish police used to be the same, but they were combined into a single force called Police Scotland in 2013. Northern Ireland also has a single force, the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
There are some other forces though:
British Transport Police: deal with policing on the rail network.
Ministry of Defence Police: a civilian force, who protect MOD sites, such as ports like HMNB Clyde, home of the British nuclear deterrent (a place, for obvious reasons, that people break into a lot). All officers are armed when on duty.
The Royal Military Police, the Royal Navy's Regulating Branch, and the RAF Police have all been folded under the same banner as Service Police with the introduction of the 2009 Armed Forces Act; although keeping the same names they now have a common set of regulations. As their names suggest, they are each a military police for a different section of the armed forces
The Civil Nuclear Constabulary: If it's nuclear and not a weapon (which are the problem of the MOD police) then this lot are responsible for protecting it. Unlike pretty much all other police in the UK, these guys are heavily armed, regular patrol issue including G36 assault rifles, Glock sidearms, tasers, ASP batons, CS spray and 30mm Autocannons.note
Units
Special Branch: "Special Branch" was a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, and work in close concert with MI-5, who do not have any powers of arrest or detention. The Metropolitan Police Special Branch was merged with the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Metropolitan Police to form a new department called Counter Terrorism Command. The Special Branch has been derided as the "Political Police", as they are given the politically sensitive cases. People tend to think that can include doing the bidding of the party in power in legally questionable ways. In reality, this translates to infiltrating far-left and far-right groups, regardless of whether or not the groups in question are lawbreakers. They have also been criticized for suggesting illegal protest actions and sleeping with the people they're supposed to be protecting, then leaving without the consequences. The Special Branch should not be confused with Special Constables, who are part-time volunteers.
Other notable or well-known units:
Special Constabulary: Special constables are part-time volunteers, who are expected to work at least one shift per 1-2 weeks. There are some variations in how police services organise their special constabulary. Most often, they give their specials a separate command structure with equivalent ranks (Special Constable, Special Sergeant, etc.), but different rank insignia. The highest-ranked special in the force is the "Chief Officer", who is also a special constable.
Flying Squad: A elite detective unit in the Met who target robberies. So named because unlike most officers, they travel freely across division/borough boundaries. The only place where detectives carry guns, their most daring work involves disrupting heists in progress. Made famous in The Sweeney.
Operation Trident ( 三叉戟 [ˈtraɪd(ə)nt] a weapon made of three sharp points on a long pole, used in the past. ): The Met's gang crime unit.
Public Order Unit: Specialist riot policing units.
Neighbourhood Policing Team: Known by several names, these are small teams of officers and PCSOs (see below) who carry out community policing in local neighbourhoods. They sometimes respond to emergencies, but are more likely to be involved in endless community meetings and preventative work.
Joint Units: Police forces can merge certain departments. Traffic policing units have frequently been merged, as their officers tend to operate over a much wider area. Joint units have become increasingly used as a means to save money.
Officer numbers
Uniformed officers traditionally haven't worn name badges, but instead have worn ID numbers on their epaulettes. These are known as "collar numbers", as they used to be worn on the collar. There have been recent scandals where uniformed officers have removed these epaulettes before expected public disorder situations. In the Met, it's generally two or three numbers, followed by one or two letters representing your borough or command unit - so an officer from Havering (KD) might be 719KD. (Met epaulettes display this upside down, with the command unit code above the numbers.) Provincial forces tend to have just numbers on their epaulettes. Only Constables and Sergeants have these ID numbers on their epaulettes. More senior officers will instead have a rank insignia on their epaulettes. Times are always changing, however, and since the 2000s some forces have required public-facing officers to wear name badges. In case anyone is interested, the reason they traditionally don't wear nametags is because officers with unusual or embarrassing names (Pratt, Dick, etc) would be subject to ridicule by antisocial types.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs): A creation of the Blair government, PCSOs (you might hear the name "Blunkett's Bobbies", after David Blunkett, the then Home Secretary) are uniformed civilians with blue epaulettes and limited powers (basically to detain you until an actual constable arrives). They were felt by some to be a cheap way to either boost police numbers, or, in more recent years, to maintain them. Despite being some of the most visible members of the police force, their appearances in fiction have been very little, but usually mocked mercilessly. One term, employed by Private Eye among others, is 'plastic police'.
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