LIKE VIRTUALLY(几乎如同) every American over 40, I remember where I was when I learned of the 9/11 attacks. I was driving to work, listening to National Public Radio. When I got to the office people were wandering about, shocked. Some were crying. Others were huddled around(聚集在……周围) computer monitors. Every screen showed the same things, over and over: the planes flying into the towers, the tiny shapes that were human beings leaping into nothingness(跃入虚无), the towers collapsing, the clouds of smoke and debris(碎片；残骸) rising.
和几乎所有40岁以上的美国人一样，我记得得知9/11袭击时自己在哪里。我当时正开车上班，听着国家公共广播。到办公室时，人们茫然地走来走去，震惊不已。有的在哭泣。有的围在电脑屏幕前。每台屏幕都反复播放着同样的画面：飞机撞向大楼，那些微小的人影跃入虚空，大楼倒塌，烟雾和碎片升腾。
No one knew much. Al-Qaeda was not yet well known. It took several days for officials to confirm Osama bin Laden’s group as the perpetrators(实施者；犯罪者). But even in those first stunned hours(震惊的时刻), one thing was apparent: this would change our world, and not for the better(不会变得更好).
没有人知道太多。当时基地组织还不为人所知。官员们花了几天时间才确认奥萨马·本·拉登的组织是实施者。但即使在最初那些震惊的时刻，有一件事是显而易见的：这将改变我们的世界，而且不是变得更好。
A quarter-century(四分之一世纪；25年) later, it’s easier to assess the damage. The attacks marked the beginning of the end(终结的开始) of American global leadership, launching us into a state of permanent fear and emergency that, in turn, enabled the precipitous(急剧的；陡峭的) decline of our democracy.
四分之一个世纪后，更容易评估造成的损害。这些袭击标志着美国全球领导地位终结的开始，使我们陷入一种持久的恐惧和紧急状态，这反过来又导致了我们民主的急剧衰落。