2006年VOA标准英语-A City Divided Five Years After 9/11

By Kane Farabaugh
New York City, NY
12 September 2006
 
watch NYC Sept 11 Anniversary

Family and friends gathered in New York to honor loved ones  
  
Families and friends of 9/11 victims in New York gathered at the base of the World Trade Center site Monday to honor their loved ones. Thousands more gathered at the fence that lines Ground Zero.  VOA's Kane Farabaugh spent the day talking with people there and reports on the surprising lack of unity¹ in the city five years later.

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It was almost as if it could have been that same September day five years ago. There were few clouds in the sky -- a weather condition airline pilots call "severe clear."

The clear sky that is now easier to see near the hole in New York City's heart was perhaps the only similarity five years after September 11, 2001.  The terrorist attacks changed the world and brought many New Yorkers together.

It was a unity that was hard to find at Ground Zero Monday.

Thousands came near the fence at Ground Zero to remember.

They came to honor.

 
9/11 protesters marched in New York 
  
And they came to protest.

The war in Iraq and conspiracy² theories about government complicity in the collapse³ of the towers were two of the central issues addressed by the protesters.

Steel beams, in the shape of a cross, at the World Trade Center site  
  
But some looked on in silent contemplation near two steel beams in the shape of a cross.  It has become an iconic symbol at the site.  Not far from its perch⁴ stood the man who found it in the rubble⁵ in the days after 9/11. 

Frank Silecchia is a concrete worker who spent 10 months at Ground Zero.  The cross isn't the only thing he found in the recovery effort. "To me, I'm a veteran of 9/11.  I served 10 months in this hellhole and I have 47 bodies in recovery.  It means a lot for me to be here to meet and greet the people I worked with and I've grown to love."

Protesters marched as the names of the victims filtered out to the crowd from loudspeakers.  

 
Frank Silecchia 
  
Frank Silecchia was unhappy with the scene. He expressed his frustration⁶. "They're using this moment that should be of solitude⁷ and silence and recognition and reflection, but instead they want to bring turmoil⁸ and chaos⁹ and disruption, which I think is totally inappropriate."

Tania Garcia made the trek¹⁰ from Florida to attend the memorial ceremony inside the site.  Her sister Marilyn worked on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center and died on 9/11.

Garcia has been back each year for the memorial and doesn't mind the protesters, or the lack of progress at the site. "My concerns are not about what goes on here,” she says. “It's not about rebuilding to me because it's not some place I would want to visit.  But that's just me.  I know that the city needs to rebuild.  I know that the city needs to keep up its status.  I understand that people need to move on.  But for me, I will never move on when it comes to this.  This is somewhere where I will be for the rest of my life.  This is a pain I will carry with me the rest of my life.  This is something that no one or anything that they wrote here will replace what has happened to us."

It is easy to see what was lost here in New York.  The hole in the ground and the empty sky above are continuous reminders¹¹ of the physical cost of that day five years ago.

But the personal loss is clearer to see on days when so many who survived gather to remember those who did not.  They honor the memory of family members and friends, who remind the rest of the world of the greatest cost of terrorism.

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

7 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

8 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

9 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。

10 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

11 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。