POMPEII...Buried Alive!

Pompeii, buried alive.

庞贝，被活埋的城市。

Chapter 1, The Sleeping Giant. Once there was a town named Pompeii. Say, Pompeii. Near the town there was a mountain named Vesuvius. Say, Vesuvius. The people in Pompeii liked living by the mountain. It was a good place to grow grapes. It was a good place to raise sheep. And it looked so peaceful.

第一章 沉睡的巨人。从前有个叫庞贝的小镇。跟我念：庞贝。 小镇附近有座叫维苏威的山。跟我念：维苏威。住在 庞贝的人们都喜欢住在山边。这里很适合种葡萄，也很 适合养羊。而且这座山看起来格外安宁。

But the mountain was really a dangerous volcano. It was like a sleeping giant. If the giant woke up, it could destroy the town. Did people know about the danger? No, they did not.

但这座山其实是座危险的火山，就像个沉睡的巨人。如果 巨人醒过来，就能毁掉整个小镇。人们知道这份危险吗？ 不，他们不知道。

A volcano is a special kind of mountain. It has a hole at the top. One day, almost two thousand years ago, something was happening under the Vesuvius. Way down deep it was very very hot. It was so hot that rock was melting. As the rock melted, a gas was made. The gas was traveling to escape. The gas and the melted rock were mixed together. The mixture was hot and bubbly. The gas was pushing the melted rock up through the machine. The melted rock was about to blast right out of the hole at the top.

火山是一种特殊的山，山顶有个洞。差不多两千年前的一天， 维苏威火山的地底正在发生变化。 地底深处热得离谱，热到岩石都融化了。岩石融化的时候， 会产生气体。气体拼命想要逃出去，和融化的岩石混在了一起。 这混合物又烫又冒着泡，气体推着融化的岩石一路往上升， 穿过山体，马上就要从山顶的洞口喷出来了。

The day started out the way it always did. The sun rose. People began coming to Pompeii with things to sell. Fishermen re -braining fish. Paddlers re -braining melons and straw hats.

这天和往常一样拉开了序幕。 太阳升起来了，人们带着要卖的货物陆续来到庞贝。 渔民们正整理待售的鲜鱼。 小贩们正清点要卖的甜瓜和草帽。