Across the United States, Americans marked the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with solemn memorial services and heartfelt tributes.
在美国纽约、华盛顿和全国各地，人们在2001年9月11日恐怖袭击七周年之际都举行了庄严的悼念活动追思遇难者。
Seven years after the attacks, New Yorkers gathered at "ground zero," the site where the World Trade Center skyscrapers once stood.
在恐怖分子袭击纽约7年后，纽约人聚集在世贸双塔曾经矗立的地方。
As in years past, the ceremony included four moments of silence, twice to mark the time that two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers and twice at the time of morning when each building collapsed in an inferno of flames and smoke.
在往年，纽约的悼念活动包括四次默哀--分别标志被劫持的客机与双塔相撞的时间，以及双塔倒塌的时间。
This year, family members and students representing victims who came from scores of nations around the world read aloud the names of more than 2,700 people who died in New York on September 11, 2001.
今年，遇难者家人和来自遇难者故国的学生们高声朗读2千7百多名纽约遇难者的名字。
The children of John Salvatore, who worked at the World Trade Center, spoke about their father when their turn came to read.
Child 1: "My dad died on 9/11, but he is not gone. Just look at each of our faces and you will see him shine through us every day."
Child 2: "We love you, Daddy.
The city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, the keynote speaker at the memorial ceremony, said Americans come together on this day to bear witness to a "day which began like any other, and ended as none ever has." "We return this morning as New Yorkers, Americans and global citizens remembering the innocent people from 95 nations and territories that lost their lives together that day," he said.
纽约市长布隆伯格主持了今年的周年纪念活动。他说，全国人民聚集在一起见证一个“有著与往常一样的开端、却有前所未有的结尾的日子。”他说：“我们作为纽约人、美国人和地球公民在这个早晨缅怀来自95个国家和地区在这一天失去他们宝贵生命的无辜的人们。”
In Washington, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush observed a moment of silence at the White House. The president then attended the dedication of a new September 11 memorial at the Pentagon, where 184 people died when another hijacked plane crashed into the building.
在华盛顿，布什总统和第一夫人劳拉在白宫举行了默哀。布什随后参加了在五角大楼建立的一个新的9/11纪念碑的落成仪式。2001年9月11日，另一架被劫持的客机撞向五角大楼，造成184人死亡。
The Pentagon memorial is the first of three major September 11 memorials to be completed. It is made of stone benches, each engraved with a victim's name.
在五角大楼的纪念碑是三个纪念9/11的主要纪念碑中最早落成的一个。这个纪念碑由石凳组成，每一个石凳上都镌刻着一位遇难者的名字。
The president says he hopes the memorial will provide some peace and comfort to the victims' friends and families. "People from across our nation will come here to remember friends and loved ones who never had the chance to say goodbye. A memorial can never replace what those of you mourning a loved one have lost."
布什总统说，他希望这个纪念碑可以为遇难者的朋友和家人带去一些平静和安慰。他说：“全国各地的人们将来到这里怀念他们未曾有机会道别的朋友和亲人。然而一座纪念碑永远也无法取代你们所悼念的亲人。”
While the 9/11 structure in Washington is complete, the controversy over the New York memorial continues. Seven years after the attacks, "ground zero" is still a construction site. And many New Yorkers are frustrated by years of delays and disagreements about their monument's progress.
The memorial and a new skyscraper should be complete by 2012, but construction work will alter anniversary ceremonies before then. This year, as they have in the past, the victims' family members walked down a ramp to the bottom of the site, at bedrock about 15 meters below ground, where they left wreaths, flowers and mementos of their loved ones. As construction progresses, this may no longer be possible.
Henry Bustillo, whose brother died on September 11, hopes the ramp will remain. "Hopefully, they will continue on having the ceremony down at the pit, downstairs, because it [won't] feel the same if they have it up here."
An official memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, is also years away from being built. However, services were held there Thursday in the field where another passenger jet went down. Forty-four people died aboard the hijacked plane, which dove at full speed into a field, apparently as the passengers struggled with their captors, trying to regain control of the aircraft.
宾夕法尼亚州尚克斯维尔镇也举行了悼念活动。有44人在第四架被劫持的飞机撞向尚克斯维尔的野地时死亡。很显然这架飞机的乘客曾努力制服劫机者。
Republican presidential candidate John McCain took part in the ceremony in Pennsylvania before heading to New York. In Shanksville, McCain paid special tribute to those who died there because they are believed to have disrupted the hijackers' plan to attack another target in Washington. "I've had the great honor and privilege to witness great courage and sacrifice for America's sake, but none greater than the sacrifice of those good people who grasped the gravity of the moment, understood the threat and decided to fight back at the cost of their lives."
共和党总统候选人麦凯恩在赴纽约之前参加了在宾夕法尼亚举行的悼念活动。在尚克斯维尔，麦凯恩特别赞颂了这架飞机的乘客。据信，这些乘客挫败了劫机者进攻华盛顿另一目标的阴谋。麦凯恩说：“我曾有无比的荣幸和特权去见证人们为国牺牲的非凡勇气。但没有什么能比这些善良的人们在生死关头当机立断、以自己的生命为代价的奋勇反抗更为伟大了。”
McCain and his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, appeared together at "ground zero" late Thursday to pay their respects and speak with mourners, including police and firefighters who honored more than 300 of their comrades who died on September 11.
麦凯恩今天晚些时候和他的民主党总统竞选对手奥巴马一同在世贸遗址为遇难者致默哀。
Laying politics aside for the day, the presidential candidates placed flowers at the World Trade Center site. They will speak Thursday at a forum on public service at Columbia University.
麦凯恩和奥巴马暂时把政治搁置一边，在世贸遗址敬献花圈。随后他们在哥伦比亚大学一个公众服务论坛上演讲。
As in years past, two bright blue beams of light will shine all night over New York City from the spot where the fallen towers stood.
与往年一样，两道蓝光将在世贸双塔曾经矗立的地方照亮纽约的夜空。 |