2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Marks Fifth Anniversary of 9/11

By Paula Wolfson
White House
10 September 2006
 
President Bush is making a somber¹ pilgrimage to the three sites where Americans lost their lives in the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports he began on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the attacks, with a visit to the hole in the earth that was once New York's World Trade Center.

The World Trade Center was the first target of the terror plot.

On a clear morning five years ago, a hijacked² plane rammed³ into a office building that seemed to reach into the sky. A short time later, another jet flew into an adjacent twin tower.

The world looked on in horror as these two New York City landmarks⁴ collapsed⁵ - filling the streets with the grayish powder of crumbled⁶ concrete and twisted chunks⁷ of metal.

Some call the site "holy ground." But most Americans simply refer to it as "ground zero."

A military escort stands at attention as President Bush and first lady Laura Bush observe moment of silence after laying memorial wreath in a reflecting pool at 'ground zero,' Sept. 10, 2006  
  
It was there that President Bush began 24 hours of events marking the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, laying memorial wreaths in two dark reflecting pools where the towers once stood.

Not a word was said. The only sound came from bagpipers nearby who played a mournful version of "America The Beautiful" as the president and Mrs. Bush moved from one reflecting pool to the other.

The notes could be heard, though faintly, at a nearby church, where emergency workers and volunteers found a place of refuge during the 9/11 rescue effort. In a pew where the first president of the United States - George Washington - once prayed, doctors set up a make-shift clinic following the attacks to treat the burned and bruised⁸ feet of the rescuers.

Five years later, the families of the fallen sat alongside members of the rescue teams, sharing the pews with local, state and federal officials for an interfaith memorial prayer service. President Bush sat in a front row and listened as Reverend James Cooper spoke⁹.

 
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, participate in a 'Service of Prayer and Remembrance' honoring victims of 9/11 attacks at St. Paul's Chapel¹⁰ in New York, Sept. 10, 2006
  
"Welcome to St. Paul's Chapel, a place of respite¹¹, love and hope, a house of prayer for all people where each of us equally is a guest in this holy place," he said.

The president will mark the actual moments when the planes hit the twin towers with emergency workers at a firehouse near the World Trade Center. From New York he will travel to the Pennsylvania field where another hijacked plane was flown into the ground, and finally to the Pentagon near Washington where terrorists crashed a jetliner into the Department of Defense¹² headquarters.

Throughout the day, the president will let others do the talking, and let the powerful images of remembrance tell the story. Mr. Bush is not expected to make any remarks until he returns to the White House late in the day, and addresses the American people.

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 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 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

7 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

8 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

11 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。