Sept.11 delivered both a shock and a surprise---the attack, and our response to it----and we can argue forever over which mattered more. There has been so much talk of the goodness that erupted that day that we forget how unprepared we were for it. We did not expect much from a generation that had spent its middle age examining all the ways it failed to measure up to the one that had come before—all fat, no muscle, less a beacon to the world than a bully, drunk on blessings taken for granted.

9'11事件带给世人的不只有震撼，还有惊讶（无论是对袭击本身，还是我们对袭击事件的反应），至于这两种感受哪种更强烈，人们可能会永远争论下去。人们都在谈论那一天