Chapter 1

I SURVIVED THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE, 1906

我在1906年的旧金山地震中幸存了下来

CHAPTER 1 APRIL 18, 1906 RINNCON HILL 5:12 A.M. SAN FRANCISCOO, CALIFORNIA The sky was still dark when the ground began to shake. Most people in San Francisco were still sleeping. Just a few were awake. Shopkeepers arranged their stores, getting ready for the day. Carriage drivers fed their horses. Newsboys ran down the sidewalk to pick up their newspapers to sell. And eleven-year-old Leo Ross was in a broken-down building, high on Rincon Hill. When the rumbling started, Leo thought it might be thunder. He had no idea that deep below

第一章1906年4月18日林肯山凌晨5:12 当地面开始摇晃时，天空还是一片漆黑。 旧金山的大多数人还在睡觉。 只有几个人醒着。店主们整理了他们的商店，为这一天做准备。 车夫喂马。 报童沿着人行道跑去捡报纸卖。 11岁的里奥·罗斯(Leo Ross)在林肯山上一栋破旧的建筑里。 当隆隆声开始响起时，利奥以为可能是雷声。 他根本不知道这一点

the city, two gigantic pieces of earth were pushing past each other. Powerful shocks exploded up through the underground layers of dirt and rock. All across the city, streets ripped open. Buildings swayed. Walls crumbled and houses came crashing down. Broken glass, hunks of wood, and piles of bricks tumbled into the streets. Leo stood in shock as the floor beneath him rose and fell like ocean waves. Hunks of plaster hit him on the head. Windows shattered, spraying glass all around. He tried to scream, but his throat was coated with dust. He wanted to run, but he couldn't even stand. The shaking was too hard. And then there was a sound like an explosion. The ceiling above his head burst open. A brick hit him, smack, on the back. And then another, thud, hit him in the shoulder. Crash! Dozens of bricks poured down. Leo fell to the floor and curled into a ball. The bricks kept coming, raining down.

这座城市，两个巨大的土块相互挤压着。 强大的冲击穿过地下的泥土和岩石。 整个城市的街道都被撕裂了。 建筑摇摆。墙壁倒塌，房屋倒塌。 碎玻璃、大块木头和成堆的砖块散落在街道上。 利奥震惊地站在那里，脚下的地板像海浪一样起落。 大块的灰泥击中了他的头部。 窗户碎了，玻璃溅得到处都是。 他想尖叫，但喉咙里沾满了灰尘。 他想跑，但他连站都站不起来。 抖得太厉害了。然后有一声类似爆炸的声音。 他头上的天花板突然炸开了。 一块砖头砸在他背上。 接着又一声，砰的一声，打中了他的肩膀。 崩溃!几十块砖倒了下来。 利奥倒在地板上，蜷成一团。 砖头像雨点一样不停地落下来。

He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. Soon he would be buried alive.

他看不见。他无法呼吸。 很快他就会被活埋。