A quarter of a century ago today, the world witnessed a devastating series of attacks on the United States that would change the lives of millions across the globe, setting off a vicious cycle of violence that continues to reverberate.(整整二十五年前的今天，世界目睹了美国遭受的一系列毁灭性袭击，这些袭击改变了全球数百万人的生活，引发了一轮至今仍在回响的暴力循环。)
整整二十五年前的今天，世界目睹了美国遭受的一系列毁灭性袭击。这些袭击改变了全球数百万人的生活，引发了一轮至今仍在回响的暴力循环。
I vividly(清晰地、生动地) remember watching the breaking news(突发新闻) of the 9/11 attacks on our old television, which we had only recently connected to the cable TV network in Pakistan. We had been shelter(避难、躲避)ing there since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan(苏联入侵阿富汗（1979年）) and could not return because of the civil war and the subsequent(随后的、后来的) Taliban rule.
我清楚地记得，当时我们那台旧电视刚接上巴基斯坦的有线电视网，我就在上面看到了9·11袭击的突发新闻。自苏联入侵阿富汗以来，我们一直避难于此，因内战和随后塔利班的统治而无法回国。
At first, it seemed like a horrific(可怕的、令人毛骨悚然的) Hollywood movie scene unfolding in a far-away land. But moments later, when the US president, George W Bush(美国第43任总统，发动反恐战争), appeared on the screen to declare a global “war on terror(反恐战争)”, it became real and monumental(重大的、意义深远的) for years to come(在未来多年里).
起初，那就像一部恐怖的好莱坞电影场景在遥远的国度上演。但片刻之后，当美国总统乔治·W·布什出现在屏幕上，宣布发动全球“反恐战争”时，一切变得真实起来，并在此后多年里影响深远。