又中又英——“eyes playing tricks on me”

　　Where were you on September 11, 2001? Most people would remember where they were on that horrifying (extremely shocking) day when al-Qaeda terrorists crashed hijacked planes into New York City’s World Trade Center twin towers. I was living in Seattle and watched the morning TV news as I normally do. What I saw made my body tremble (shake) and my legs wobble. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But I soon knew it was a nightmare come true. Terrorists had attacked the US. Like other Americans, I was shocked.
　　If you have wobbly legs, it means your legs move unsteadily from side to side. It can be caused by a health problem but in cases such as mine it was caused by disbelief, emotion, and anger. A similar expression is jelly legs. The expression “eyes playing tricks on me” means you think you saw something that was not real. Tragically, the 9/11 terrorist attack was real. Little did I know that 20 years after 9/11 I would be living near ground zero. My Manhattan apartment is just 30 minutes by subway (MTR) to ground zero. The expression “little did I know” means you could not have guessed something could happen to you in the future.
　　The original meaning of ground zero is the site of a nuclear explosion but it is now used to describe the site of a violent event. The site of the 9/11 attacks is called ground zero. I went to ground zero recently. It is now a memorial. There are two big waterfall pools below ground level on the exact spot where the two World Trade Center towers, known as the twin towers, once stood. The names of all those who died are written on the sides of the two pools. Last September, less than three months ago, was the 20th anniversary of 9/11. I missed the yearly memorial because I was at my elder sister’s home in Indianapolis. But if I am still in Manhattan next September, I will definitely attend the memorial.
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　　二〇〇一年九月十一日，你身处何方？大多数人都会记得，在那举世震惊（horrifying）的一天，当阿盖达恐怖份子将骑劫的客机撞向纽约市世贸中心双子塔（twin towers）之时，自己在哪里。我当时住在西雅图，如往常一样，正收看早上的电视新闻报道。我看到的一切令我身体颤抖（tremble），双脚晃动（legs wobble）。我以为我的双眼在胡弄我（my eyes were playing tricks on me），但很快我便知道，这是噩梦成真了。恐怖份子确实袭击了美国。一如其他美国人一样，我大为震惊。
　　若你有wobbly legs，意味着你双腿不稳、左右摇晃，这可以是健康出了问题导致，但在一些情况下，像我的情况，它就是出于难以置信、情绪和愤怒。另一个类似的习语是jelly legs。习语“eyes playing tricks on me”意即你看到一些很不真实、令你难以置信的画面。悲惨的是，九一一恐怖袭击是真实发生的。当时的我也不知道（little did I know），九一一发生二十年后，我会在归零地（ground zero）附近居住。从我曼哈顿的单位去归零地（ground zero）不过三十分钟的地铁车程。习语“little did I know”意即你不可能想像得到将来某事会发生在自己身上。
　　Ground zero本身解作核弹爆炸的原爆点，但现在也用来形容遭受到严重损毁的地方；九一一恐袭的原址就叫作ground zero。我最近就去了归零地（ground zero），它现在是个纪念场地。那儿有两大低于地平面的瀑布池，正正就在世称双子塔（twin towers）的两栋世贸中心大楼原本耸立之处。所有在事件中逝世的死者名字，都列在两个池的旁边。不足三个月前的九月，是九一一的二十周年纪念。我错过了那一年一度的纪念活动，因为我在印第安纳波里斯我姊的家里；但若我下年九月还在曼哈顿，我一定会出席纪念活动。[email protected]
　　中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁