Everyone who was in New York on 11 September 2001 has their 9/11 story. My husband and I were at JFK(肯尼迪国际机场), boarding a plane to San Francisco. Our two sons were home in lower Manhattan(曼哈顿下城), a block away from my 85-year-old mother. They watched the towers fall(目睹双子塔倒塌) from our corner. The weather was radiantly(灿烂地、光芒四射地) beautiful.
2001年9月11日身在纽约的每个人，都有自己的9·11故事。我和丈夫当时在肯尼迪机场，正要登机飞往旧金山。我们的两个儿子待在曼哈顿下城的家中，离我85岁的母亲只隔一个街区。他们从我们街角目睹了双子塔倒塌。那天天气灿烂得惊人。
For a long time, the faces of the missing were everywhere. Their eyes seemed to follow us from the makeshift(临时凑合的) shrine(神龛；悼念场所) outside St Vincent’s hospital to the window of our local bodega(小杂货店). We cried at random moments(在不经意的时刻). We slept badly.
很长一段时间里，失踪者的面孔无处不在。他们的眼睛似乎一路追随着我们，从圣文森特医院外临时搭建的悼念场所，到我们街角小杂货店的橱窗。我们会在不经意间突然落泪，夜夜难以安眠。
No one who lived downtown could possibly be surprised by the recently released report about the toxicity of the air during those weeks and months.(任何住在下城的人，对最近发布的关于那几周乃至几个月空气毒性的报告，都不会感到意外。) We inhaled(吸入) it with every breath. Nothing else has ever smelled like that. I never want to smell that again.
任何住在下城的人，对最近发布的关于那几周乃至几个月空气毒性的报告，都不会感到意外。我们每吸一口气，就把毒物吸进肺里。那种气味，别的东西从未有过。我再也不想闻到那种味道了。