Lesson-Nine-译文

1Pompeii(ByRobertSilverberg)NotveryfarfromNaples,astrangecitysleepsunderthehotItaliansun.ItisthecityofPompeii,andthereisnoothercityquitelikeitinalltheworld.NothinglivesinPompeiiexceptcricketsandbeetlesandlizards,yeteveryyearthousandsofpeopletravelfromdistantcountriestovisitit.在离那不勒斯不远的地方，一座奇特的小城寂静的沉睡在意大利炙热的骄阳之下。那就是庞培城。全世界再没有任何一个城市和庞培城相像。在庞培城中，除了蟋蟀、甲虫和蜥蜴之外，别无其他生物，然而每年都有成千上万的人从不同国度不远万里前来参观。Pompeiiisadeadcity.Noonehaslivedtherefornearlytwothousandyears----notsincethesummeroftheyearA.D.79,tobeexact.庞培是一座死城。确切的说自从公元79年的那个夏天开始，两千年来没有人在这里生活过。UntilthatyearPompeiiwasaprosperouscityof25,000people.NearbywastheBayofNaples,anarmoftheblueMediterranean.RichmencamedownfromwealthyRometobuildseasidevillas.FarmlandssurroundedPompeii.Risingbehindthecitywasthe4000-footMountVesuvius,agrass-coveredslopewheretheshepherdsofPompeiitooktheirgoatstograze.Pompeiiwasabusycityandahappyone.直到那年夏天庞培成还是一座拥有25000人的繁荣城市，离那不远就是蓝色地中海之臂的那不勒斯湾。一些有钱人从富有的罗马城来到这里建造海边别墅。庞培城的周围有农田环绕。在这座城市的背后矗立着4000英尺高的维苏威火山。绿草覆盖的山坡上，牧羊人赶着他们的羊群在吃草。庞培城是一座繁忙而又充满幸福感的城市。Itdiedsuddenly,inaterriblerainoffireandash.Thetragedystruckonthe24thofAugust,A.D.79.MountVesuvius,whichhadsleptquietlyforcenturies,eruptedwithsavageviolence.TonsofhotashfellonPompeii,hidingitfromsight.Forthreedaysthesundidnotbreakthroughthecloudsofvolcanicashthatfilledthesky.Andwhentheeruptionended,Pompeiiwasburieddeep.Acityhadperished.2可是，在一阵可怕的火与灰的袭击中，这座城市灭亡了。这个悲剧发生在公元79年的8月24日。维苏威火山。这座沉睡了几世纪的山脉，突然剧烈的爆发了。数以吨计滚烫的火山灰落到了庞培城遮住了人们的视线。3天以来阳光都无法穿过被火山灰充斥的云层。当喷发结束的时候，庞培城被深深的掩埋了。这座城市也就消失了。Centuriespassed,Pompeiiwasforgotten.Then,seventeenhundredyearslater,itwasdiscoveredagain.Beneaththeprotectingshroudofash,thecitylayintact.EverythingwasasithadbeenthedayVesuviuserupted.Therewerestillloavesofbreadintheovensofthebakeries.Inthewineshops,thewinejarswereinplace,andononecountercouldbeseenastainwhereacustomerhadthrowndownhisglassandfled.几个世纪过去了，庞培城几乎被遗忘了。不过，1700年后，人们又重新发现了它。在火山灰的保护下，这座城市完好无损的躺在那里。一切都是维苏威火山喷发那天的样子。面包店烤箱里依然有尚未出炉的面包，在卖红酒的店里，酒坛子依然放在原处，在柜台前，人们扔下酒杯逃命的痕迹清晰可见。TogotoPompeiitodayistotakeatripbackwardintime.Theoldcitycomestolifeallaroundyou.Youcanalmostheartheclatterofhorses’hoofsonthenarrowstreets,thecriesofchildrenandthelaughteroftheshopkeepers.Theskyiscloudlesslyblue,withthesummersunhighinthesky.ThegrassyslopesofgreatVesuviusrisetotheheavensbehindthecity,andsunlightshimmersonthewatersofthebayathousandyardsfromthecitywalls.Shipsfromeverynationareinportandstrangelanguagescanbeheardinthestreets.今天，去庞培可以称得上是一次体验时光倒流的旅行，古老的城市在你的周围仿佛又重新充满了活力。你几乎能听到狭窄街道上的马蹄声，孩子们的哭闹声和店主们的笑声。蔚蓝的天空万里无云，盛夏的烈日在空中高悬。城市的背后维苏威火山长满青草的山坡伸向天空，阳光在城墙外1000多码的海湾水面上闪烁发光。从世界各国驶来的船只停在港内，大街上还能听到各种不同的语言。SuchwasPompeiionitslastday.Andsoitistoday,nowthatthevolcanicashhasbeenclearedaway.Agoodimaginationisallyouneedtorestoreittoactivity.这就是庞培的最后一天。也就是今天，火山灰已经清理完毕，你需要一个很丰富的想象力来把它恢复到现实当中。3AtdawnonAugust24,intheyearA.D.79,Pompeii’s25,000peopleawakenedtoanotherhotdayinthathotsummer.Therewasgoingtobeacontestinthearenathatnightandthewholetownwaslookingforwardtothebloodyfightsofthegladiators.Thechildrenheadedtowardschool,carryingslatesandfollowedbytheirdogs.Intheforumthetown’simportantmenhadgatheredafterbreakfasttoreadthepoliticalsignsthathadbeenpostedduringthenight.Elsewhereintheforumthewoolmerchantstalkedbusiness.Thebankerwasgoingoverhisaccountbooks.Attheinnlater-risingtravellersfromtheEastawakenedandyawnedandcalledforbreakfast.在公元79年8月24日黎明，庞培城的人们在炎热的夏天中迎来了新的一天，原本在那天晚上竞技场有一场竞赛，全城百姓都期待着角斗士们的血腥搏斗，孩子们提着石板跟在狗的后面去上学，在城镇广场上全城的重要人士在早饭后都聚集起来看张贴好的政治公告。在广场的其他地方，羊毛商正在谈生意；旅馆里刚刚起床的游客还在打着哈欠叫早餐。Thequietmorningmovedslowlyalong.TherewasnothingveryunusualaboutPompeii.Buttragedywasonitsway.BeneathVesuvius’vine-coveredslopesamightyforcewasabouttobreakloose.Atoneo’clockintheafternoonthecriticalpointwasreached.Themountainblewup,rainingdeathonthousands.DowninPompeii,fourmilesfromthesummit,atremendousexplosionwasheard.安静的早上，时间慢慢过去。庞培城没有什么异常。但是一场悲剧正在逼近，在维苏威火山藤蔓覆盖的山坡下一股巨大的力量即将爆发。在下午一点钟，这股力量到达了临界点。火山爆发了，死亡向成千上万的人们降临。山下的庞贝城，距离山顶有四英里，巨大的爆炸声清晰可闻。“Whatwasthat?”peoplecriedfromoneendoftowntoanother.Theystaredateachother,puzzled,troubled.Werethegodsfightinginheaven?“那是什么？”人们哭喊着从一座城跑到应一座城，他们互相瞪着眼睛看在猜测，在忧虑。难道是众神在天堂里打架么？“Look!”somebodyshouted.“LookatVesuvius!”“看!”一些人喊道，“看维苏威火山！”4Thousandsofeyesturnedupward.Thousandsofarmspointed.Ablackcloudwasrisingfromtheshatteredsummitofthemountain.Higherandhigheritrose.Likethetrunkofatree,itroseintheair,branchingoutasitclimbed.上万双眼睛齐刷刷的向上面望去，上万只胳膊指向那里，一阵乌云从粉碎的山顶向上升起，乌云越升越高，像一棵大树伸向填空，如枝条似的展开。Minutespassed.Thesoundoftheexplosiondiedaway,butitstillreverberatedineveryone’sears.ThecloudoverVesuviuscontinuedtorise,blackasnight,higherandhigher.AstrangerainbegantofallonPompeii----arainofstones.Thestoneswerelight.Theywerepumicestones,consistingmostlyofairbubbles.Thesepoureddownasthoughtherehadbeenasuddencloudburst.Thepumicestonesdidlittledamage.几分钟过去了，爆炸声逐渐消失，但每个人仍然能听到回音维苏威火山的黑云继续上升，暗如黑夜，越升越高。一阵奇怪的雨开始飘落——石块雨。石块是浅色的。这是浮石，大多数还夹杂着空气中的气泡。这些浮石倾泻而下，如同瞬间的倾盆大雨一般。不过这些浮石几乎没有破坏。“Whatishappening?”Pompeiiansaskedoneanother.Theyrushedtothetemples----theTempleofJupiter,theTempleofApollo,