生活英語情景口語:9.11發生的時候你在哪裏?

Jade: do you remember where you were for the terrorist attacks on 9-11?

Sam: yes, I was in my apartment in Beijing. Where were you?

J: I was at home with my parents in New York City.

S: really? Did you see the hijacked planes crash into and destroy the twin towers?

J: I didn't see the crash itself, but I did see the smoke and everything afterwards from my parents' apartment building.

S: that must have been horrible. Did you go out at all that day to see what was going on?

J: no, we decided to stay in our apartment. With all the buses out of service and the underground trains at a halt, many people had no choice but to walk home. It was utter chaos.

S: did you know anyone who worked in the World Trade Center?

J: yes, my uncle's firm had an office in one of the towers.

S: did he survive?

J: unfortunately, he wasn't able to evacuate in time. He ended up dying in the tower.

S: I'm sorry. That must have really been a nightmarish day for you and your family.

J: it was. The hijackers didn't have any respect for human life not even their own.

S: terrorist acts are deliberate and deadly and can affect every walk of life.

還記得”911”發生的那天你在哪兒嗎?
記得,我在北京的家裏.你呢?
我跟我爸媽就在紐約的家裏.
真的嗎?你親眼看見那幾架被劫持的飛機撞向雙子塔了嗎?
我沒看見撞擊的場景,但是從我父母家的那棟大樓往外看,我的確看見了濃煙和後來發生的一切.
那景象一定很可怕吧.你那天出門去看了嗎?
沒有,我們都決定留在家裏.當時所有的公共汽車和地鐵都停止了運營,很多人不得不步行回家.那景象非常混亂.
你認識的人中有在世貿大樓裏工作的嗎?
有的.我叔叔有家公司就開在世貿大樓裏.
他生還了嗎?
很不幸,他當時沒能逃出來.死在了那座樓裏.
真遺憾.那對你和你家人來說一定是噩夢般的一天.
確實是.劫機者簡直對人的生命毫無尊重可言,甚至連自己的姓名都不尊重.
恐怖行爲都是蓄謀已久的,一擊就能致命,而且對各個行業都會產生惡劣的影響.

Hijack: to use violence or threats to take control of a vehicle, especially a plane, in order to force it to travel to a different place or to demand something from a government 劫持(交通工具,尤指飛機)
The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Cairo. 班機在從倫敦飛往開羅途中遭到了兩名持械男子劫持.

Crash: if a vehicle crashes or the driver crashes it, it hits an object or another vehicle, causing damage 碰撞;撞擊 ~ (sth) (into sth)
I was terrified that the plane would crash. 飛機會失事把我嚇壞了.
We're going to crash, aren't we? 我們要墜毀了,是不是?
A truck went out of control and crashed into the back of a bus. 貨車失控撞上了一輛公共汽車的尾部.
He crashed his car into a wall. 他的汽車撞到了牆上.

Halt: an act of stopping the movement or progress of somebody/something 停止;阻止;暫停
Work came to a halt when the machine broke down. 機器一壞,工作便停了下來.
The thought brought her to an abrupt halt. 她一想到這個便猛地停下了.
The car skidded to a halt. 汽車打滑一段後停了下來.
Strikes have led to a halt in production. 罷工已經使生產陷於停頓.
They decided it was time to call a halt to the project(= stop it officially). 他們認定該叫停這項工程.

Chaos: a state of complete confusion and disorder 混亂;雜亂;紊亂
economic/political/domestic chaos 經濟╱政治╱國內的混亂
Heavy snow has caused total chaos on the roads. 大雪導致道路上交通一片混亂.
The house was in chaos after the party. 聚會後,房子裏一片狼藉.

a walk of life: a person's job or position in society 行業;職業;地位;階層
She has friends from all walks of life. 她在社會各界中都有朋友.

End up: to find yourself in a place or situation that you did not intend or expect to be in 最終成爲;最後處於
If you go on like this you'll end up in prison. 如果你繼續這樣,早晚得進監獄.
At first they hated each other, but they ended up getting married. 他們起初相互仇恨,到後來卻成了夫妻.
If he carries on driving like that, he'll end up dead. 如果他繼續這樣開車,總有一天會把命都丟掉.