9•11恐怖袭击事件7周年纪念前夕，来自美国各地的民众来到纽约曼哈顿下城的炮台公园，签名悼念罹难者。他们签名的一根钢柱，未来将成为世贸遗址纪念馆整体建筑的一部分，永久地保留民众签名和留言。尽管世贸遗址纪念馆早已宣布开工，但因设计图纸及资金投入等问题，致使工程进度颇为缓慢。纽约市长迈克尔•布隆伯格表示要加快遗址纪念馆工程进度，世贸遗址将在2011年，9•11恐怖袭击事件十周年之际竣工。

As New York City prepares for the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is doing what he can to speed up the process of the replacement projects. He's doing this while people flock to lower Manhattan to sign a piece of history.

Two 37-foot steel beams, each weighing some four tons, are on display for people to sign before the beams become part of the 9-11 Memorial and Museum. Kim Clark lost her brother, Michael Clark of Ladder 2.

"We're gonna put a message to him, from all the family so people can carry on," Kim Clark said.

Not only did victims' families show up, but so did average New Yorkers and the mayor of the city.

"If we don't learn from our past mistakes, we will live to repeat them in the future," Bloomberg said.

Since the attack, cost overruns, construction delays and bureaucratic wrangling have marred progress at the site. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, the mayor called upon the Port Authority to share the urgency, and Gov. David Paterson has applauded the mayor's call to dismantle the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, turning over its functions to the city. The mayor wants the deadline for the memorial to be the 10th anniversary.

"Do I think a deadline is critical? Yes, I think for this country this date is critical, and for the state and city to have the memorial done," Bloomberg said.

The museum is set to open in 2012, a year after the memorial plaza is scheduled to be ready for visitors.

But for now, the mayor wants a hard deadline of 2011 for the memorial and wants all parties involved to get aboard.

New data from a public health registry that tracks health effects of 9/11 suggest that up to 70,000 people developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the terror attacks.

(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation: 曼哈顿下城开发公司

post-traumatic stress disorder: 创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）

(英语点津 Helen 编辑)