年轻妓女、水中的裸尸、神秘的连环杀手……英国萨福克郡近日被红灯区的妓女连环凶杀案搞得人心惶惶。警方日前宣布，他们已拘留了该案嫌犯。虽然涉案嫌疑人找不出案发时自己不在场的证据，但他却一口咬定自己无罪。

请看外电相关报道：British police arrested a 37-year-old man suspected of murdering five prostitutes in a high-profile serial¹-killer case that has gripped the nation.

At the weekend, the suspect gave a newspaper interview in which he insisted he was innocent but admitted being unable to explain where he was at the times of the killings².

显然，报道中的“serial-killer case”指的是“连环凶杀案”，相应的，“serial killer”就是“连环杀手”。

“Serial”常用来形容“一连串的、一系列的”，如：a serial story（分期连载的故事）；be placed in serial order（依次放置）。

“Serial”做名词时，可以指“连续剧、连载小说”，如：radio serial（广播连续剧），再看个例句：Several magazines have bid for the serial rights of my novel.（几家杂志竞相出价想获得我的小说的连载权。）