April 24

The
A massive bomb has ripped through the heart of the City of London, killing one and injuring more than 40.

The explosion shook buildings and shattered hundreds of windows, sending glass showering down into the streets below. A mediaeval church, St Ethelburga's, collapsed; another church and Liverpool Street underground station were also wrecked.

The cost of repairing the damage has been estimated at more than ?bn.

We didn't expect them to do it again in the same area.

Security guard Raymond Fayers

Police had received coded warnings, but were still evacuating the area when the bomb went off. Most of those injured were security guards, builders and maintenance staff, and those who had come into their offices to work at the weekend.

Police said the bomb was hidden in the back of a dark blue tipper truck, parked in Bishopsgate.

It was home-made, with about a ton of fertiliser - similar to the bomb which devastated the Baltic Exchange a year ago, killing three people.

Repairs to the Exchange had just been completed, and the building re-opened, when the same banks were damaged again by today's blast.

One of those injured, security guard Raymond Fayers, said, "We were all surprised that they picked the same hotspot again. Every night, virtually, we get some sort of scare, but we didn't expect them to do it again in the same area."

The dead man was found under rubble during a five-hour search of debris near where the bomb went off. He has not yet been identified.

Back in business

Police say they are in no doubt that the bomb was planted by the IRA, although the organisation has not said it carried out the attack.

The explosion comes just over a month after the Warrington bomb, which killed two children. The IRA expressed its regret after the outcry that followed.

Commander David Tucker, of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, said, "We had hoped after the deaths in Warrington that there would be some sort of turning point, but that seems to be not the case."

The area around the site of today's blast remains sealed off, but the Lord Mayor of London has promised that the City will be back in business on Monday. 

Vocabulary:  

tangled: complicated and difficult to unravel(缠结的，复杂的，难以解开的)

debris: wreckage（残骸，碎片）