The lost city of Pompeii 被湮没的庞贝古城

陆鹏飞

海词积累

1. prosperous adj. 繁荣的

2. fertility n. 肥沃;丰收

3. destruction n. 破坏;毁灭

4. occur v. 发生

5. suffocation n. 窒息

6. vent n. 出口

7. sufficient adj. 足夠的;充足的

8. dissolve v. 使溶解

9. archaeologist n. 考古学家

10. swarm v. 云集

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Along with Herculaneum， Pompeii was partially destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 metres of ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

By the 1st century AD， Pompeii was one of a number of towns located near the base of the volcano Mount Vesuvius. The area had a large population which grew prosperous from the region's famous agricultural fertility. Many of Pompeii's neighboring communities also suffered damage or destruction during the AD 79  eruption. The eruption occurred on August 24.

A study of the eruption products and victims indicates that  heat was the main cause of the death of people at Vesuvius and surrounding towns， previously believed to have died from ash suffocation. The results of the study published in 2010 show that exposure to at least 250°C hot waves at a distance of 10 kilometres from the vent was sufficient to cause instant death， even if people were sheltered within buildings.

After many years， Pompeii disappeared in our minds. Then， the people from Greece and Sicily found a forest at the foot of the volcano. They discovered that there is black land when they cut down the trees. Grapes might be planted there.

In 1748， a farmer called Andre and his brother dug a cupboard made of metal. To their surprise， there were a lot of dissolved jewelry and ancient money in it. This news spread quickly. The farmers were thinking of the legend of disappeared Pompeii that ancestors told them. So， many archaeologists， historians， and even treasure hunters swarmed there. In 1876， Italy government agreed with experts to dig the Pompeii out. Through a hundred years'working， they dug the Pompeii out completely.

The historian Ványa said，“What a horrifying scene！Many people died when they were sleeping， and some people died behind the door of home. They were raising their hands and breathing...”

Compared with nature， human seems small and weak. We don't have enough power to compete with nature， so we should respect nature and protect the environment to lessen disasters.

Reading Check

1. What caused the deaths according to the study？

A.Ash suffocation.

B.Lack of shelters.

C.Extreme heat.

D.Starvation.

2. What does the last paragraph tell us to do？

A.To research on nature.

B.To compete with nature.

C.To fight against disasters.

D.To protect our environment.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

The results of the study published in 2010 show that exposure to at least 250°C hot waves at a distance of 10 kilometres from the vent was sufficient to cause instant death， even if people were sheltered within buildings. 2010年公布的这项研究结果表明，在距火山口10千米处，暴露于至少250℃的热浪中足以造成快速死亡，即使人们有建筑物的保护。

【点石成金】The results of the study是句子的主语，published in 2010是动词？鄄ed形式作定语，that引导的是宾语从句，even if people were sheltered within buildings是让步状语从句。