VOA标准英语2010年-People From All Walks of Life Speak Ou

The streets surrounding Ground Zero were both busy and somber¹ on Saturday morning as thousands of people from many walks of life came to commemorate² the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York nine years ago.

It's the morning of September 11, 2010, exactly nine years since the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, now known as Ground Zero. Firefighters at Engine Company 7 stand at attention as the firehouse bell tolls³ in memory of their comrades, who died that day trying to save others.

For fireman Rocko Angelo Cocciolillo, this is a highly emotional moment.

"I'm sad. I lost 343 brothers down there, nine years ago on this terrible day and I am here to say my prayers and thank God that we are still here and to pray for their families and to never forget, my man. That's basically it. As long as I'm alive I will be down here on the eleventh of September," he said.

So, for that matter, will Frank Marquez of Los Angeles, California. As soon as he heard of the attack and its devastation⁴, he quit his job and left for New York to volunteer. He stayed for seven months helping⁵ out firefighters and combing through the wreckage⁶ at Ground Zero looking for human remains⁷.

"These are my friends. I made friends with these guys nine years ago. I used to feed them. I used to bring food by and drop them off at the firehouse and do that three times a day. We did that for seven months. These people are my brothers, the firefighters of New York, the police officers of New York, and all the first responders that came to New York. We bonded⁸. We're a family now. They've taken me into their fold and I am honored by that," he said.

Marquez says the experience changed his life forever.

"Although my health is failing because of it. I have toxic⁹ poisoning. It doesn't mean anything to me. That's the price you pay for taking risks. I knew the deal when I came here. I walked away from my world to come and help. I just started hitchhiking. It took me a week to get here. I started on September 12. I got here on September 18. I hit midtown at 10 in the morning. By 5:30 in the evening, I was passing buckets at Ground Zero. People say 'move on'. You don't move on from something like this. You deal with it on a daily basis as best you can," he said.

Closer to Ground Zero, Sam Mandelbaum of Texas finds both comfort and confrontation¹⁰ at Saturday's commemoration events that include moments of silence, the reading of victims' names, and a swarm¹¹ of visitors, all of it amid new construction at the site.

"Because it's an opportunity to heal. Because it's been nine years, which is not that long, but any time that anybody comes to this place they have to face the deaths that happened on that day, the deaths that have happened since then because of that day, the way the world has changed the way we have changed, and the way the landscape has changed. And my response is acceptance," he said.

But Bonita Mentis still finds it impossible to accept what happened to her sister, Shevonne, who died in the attacks.

"Some people actually got closure because there was a body. With her, we never got a body or anything, So it's still hard. She was a wonderful sister, a wonderful daughter, wonderful aunt. She was only 25 years old at that time. A full-time¹² student at Borough¹³ of Manhattan Community College. She had big dreams. Unfortunately for her, it was not meant to be," she said.

Because of the iconic status it has assumed, it can be easy to forget that Ground Zero was located deep within a bustling¹⁴ community, where people like Robert Mulero live and work. For them, the terrorist attacks were a very local story.

"We saw everything. We saw the buildings come down. We saw people coming out the windows. We felt the vibration¹⁵, we saw the chaos¹⁶ that was going on. Where I worked … people were saying, 'My daughter works there,' 'My husband.' We did see people fall out the building … just falling down. I was afraid of going home. I didn't go home that night. I have to say one thing: after September 11th, strangers wanted to help everybody. I was out in New Jersey¹⁷ and I was in a bar and someone offered me money, food, if I needed place to stay. And this one guy said to me 'do you need to make a phone call?' I said, 'Okay. I'd like to speak to my sister.' And when I called my sister, she started to cry. This is my cousin's daughter, she was killed. She got stuck in the elevator and she suffocated¹⁸. I feel bad for the mother, and the parents. You are not supposed to bury your kids," he said.

Indeed, Mari Richardsson, a Swedish tourist on holiday in New York with her family, seemed to clutch her own kids a bit tighter as she looked at the place where the World Trade Center once stood. She remembers September 11, 2001 vividly¹⁹.

"Yes, of course you are sad," she says, "but still you have to find other ways to go ahead and try to make something out of it too, I think."

For many Americans and their well-wishers abroad, both strength and sorrow continue to be intertwined in their memories of the terrorist attacks that shocked the world. But as recent developments related to the 9/11 attacks in New York and their consequences show, both controversy²⁰ and healing, anger and reconciliation²¹, continue to be vitally relevant themes.
 

1 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

2 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

3 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

4 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

9 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

10 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

11 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

12 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

13 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

14 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

15 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

16 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

17 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

18 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

19 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

20 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

21 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。