美国国家公共电台 NPR--A remembrance of Sept. 11 from a person working that day at the Pentagon

A remembrance of Sept. 11 from a person working that day at the Pentagon

Transcript¹

A mother tells her daughter what it was like being at the Pentagon when a jet tore through the building on Sept. 11, 2001.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Time now for StoryCorps. Tesia Williams was one of the first people in her family to go to college. Shortly after graduating, she got a job at the Pentagon. She was there on September 11, 2001, when one of four hijacked² planes crashed into the building and killed 184 people. At StoryCorps, she told her 17-year-old daughter, Mikayla Stephens, what it meant to be there.

TESIA WILLIAMS: My parents didn't come from a lot. My grandmother had a high school education, but given the Jim Crow laws, there were only a few jobs that were available to her. And so I had my sights set on, you know, rising in my career. And then September 11 came around. I was 23, and the rug was swept out from under me.

MIKAYLA STEPHENS: What did you witness that day?

WILLIAMS: I remember the plane hit in between corridors 4 and 5, and I was in corridor 6. There was just so much confusion as to what was happening. I thought a bomb had hit the Pentagon. After I left the building, I remember standing³ there, frozen. All I wanted was to call my parents. Others were running back into the building to rescue people. But I didn't think about running back in. And I was ashamed for a long time. I carried this weight of not doing more when I had the opportunity to do so.

STEPHENS: I didn't know that you went through so much.

WILLIAMS: But did you know that the events of that day inspired me to adopt you and your sister?

STEPHENS: No, I didn't. I didn't know.

WILLIAMS: Yeah. So six years after 9/11, I got the devastating⁴ news that your mom passed away after giving birth to your sister. And I thought, now's my time. I have to step in.

STEPHENS: I'm in shock. I never knew that 9/11 could motivate you to do something like that.

WILLIAMS: Yeah. But you were just such a wonderful blessing⁵, and I am so thankful to have you in my life. And, you know, if I had an opportunity to talk to my younger self now, I would tell her that falling - that's inevitable⁶. Focus on what you're going to do to get back up and help others get up as well.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTINEZ: That's Tesia Williams and her daughter, Mikayla Stephens. Their StoryCorps interview will be archived at the Library of Congress.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

6 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。