对美国的攻击：2001年9月11日

没有一个人会忘记西元2001年9月11日这个日子。这是一个晴空万里、蓝天白云的星期二。然而，就在上午10点左右，明亮的天气很快的转变成为一场悲剧。美国航空公司编号11号的飞机，于早上8点从麻州波士顿起飞，前往加州洛杉矶。在8点14分时，联合航空公司编号175号的飞机，同样从波士顿起飞，也要前往洛杉矶。但是就在8点45分，也就是飞机起飞45分钟后，美国航空公司的这架飞机撞上位于纽约市的世界贸易中心 (World Trade Center) 北楼 (North Tower) 。9点03分时，联合航空的这家飞机则撞上世界贸易中心的南楼 (South Tower) 。10点30分时，这两栋办公大楼在遭到撞击之后完全倒塌。

当人们在电视上看到这些事件时，他们感到相当恐惧与困惑。显而易见的，美国正遭到攻击，而飞机也成为劫机犯的攻击武器。


September 11, 2001, is a day that no one will forget. It began as a crystal clear, blue-sky Tuesday. As mid-morning approached, however, the brightness quickly turned into tragedy. American Airlines Flight 11 left Boston, Massachusetts, at 8 a.m., bound for Los Angeles, California. At 8:14 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 also left Boston for Los Angeles. At 8:45 a.m., just 45 minutes after taking off, the American jet crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower in New York City. At 9:03 a.m., the United jet crashed into the World Trade Center's South Tower. By 10:30 a.m. both towers had collapsed completely from the damage.

As people watched these events unfold on television, they were frightened and bewildered. It quickly became obvious that the United States was under attack and that the airliners were being used as weapons by hijackers.

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