高中英语求翻译

Around the end of the first century AD, a Roman writer called Pliny wrote about a terrible a volcanic eruption that he had witnessed as a young man. The eruption had occurred on August 24th, 79 AD. The earth began to tremble and a volcano named Vesuvius, near Pompeii, Italy, erupted. Pliny described a could coming down the mountain, blocking out the sun and burying everything in its path, including whole villages and towns.

大约在公元一世纪，有个名叫普利尼的青年罗马作者记录下了他亲历的一次剧烈火山喷发。那一天是公元79年08月24日。大地在颤抖，意大利庞贝城附近的维苏威火山喷发了。根据普利尼的描述，遮天蔽日的一团云从山上倾泻而下，沿途上的一切尽皆吞噬，几个村庄和小镇就这样被整个儿地吞没了。

This particularly sad event left a deep impression on Pliny who had lost an uncle in the eruption. Yet, over the centuries, there were a greater loss. The people, towns, and villages that had disappeared under the ashes were entirely forgotten by the world.

这次悲惨事件给普利尼留下了深刻的印象。在这次火山喷发中，他失去了一个叔叔。但损失远不止如此，几个世纪之后的损失更大。那些被火山灰掩埋了的人们、小镇、村庄被世界完全遗忘了。

However, more than 1600 years later, some scientists found the lost towns that had been buried under the ashes. By 1748, they had found and awesome historical site. They had started to dig out the ancient city of Pompeii.

大约1600年后，有科学家发现了几个被火山灰掩埋了的小镇。1748年，他们发现了一处令人震惊的历史遗迹。经过发掘，他们发现了庞贝古城。

In a way, Pompeii is like a “time capsule” preserving a frozen moment in history. Before the eruption occurred, it had been a booming Roman city with temples, markets, restaurants and theatres. Now as you walk along the streets of the city, time rewinds. You can admire the ancient architecture, statues, decorated walls and ancient objects characteristic of the time.

从某种程度上来讲，庞贝就象是一颗“时间胶囊”，保存着一个凝固的历史瞬间。在火山喷发前，庞贝曾经是一座欣欣向荣的罗马城市，有寺庙、有市场、有饭店也有剧院。现在，徜徉于这座城市的街道，放佛时间已倒流，到处是古代的建筑艺术、雕塑、墙壁的装饰及富有当时特点的各种古代物件。

However, much more than buildings and objects, it is the forms of the people who were caught in the disaster that have made the city a monument to human history.

不仅能看到建筑物和各种物品，不幸罹难当时人们的各种姿态使得这座城市变成了一座人类历史纪念碑。

The bodies of people who had died in Pompeii left impressions in the ash that showed their exact shapes. As you walk, you will pass people gathered together for protection in their last hours of life. One person, sitting along, looks like he is praying. Another man, lying on his side, looks as if he is trying to get up. One can only feel sorrow and deep sympathy for these once-living statues.

从庞贝城遇难者遗体在火山灰上留下的痕迹可以看出人们当时的姿态。继续行走，你会经过一处当时人们聚集避难的地点，他们曾在那里渡过了他们生命里最后的几个小时。有个人孤零零地坐在那里，象是在祷告；另一个人躺在他旁边，好像正在努力想要坐起来。面对这些曾经是鲜活生命的雕像，人们只剩下了悲痛和深深地同情。

Today, more than 250 years after scientists found the city, thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists visit Pompeii every year to learn more about the ancient world. In this way, the city, which the world had once forgotten, lives on nearly 2,000 years after its loss.

现在距离这座城市被科学家发现已有250多年了。每年都有成千上万的游客和大批科学家来到庞贝城，希望能从这个古代的世界里发现更多新鲜的事物。这座曾经被世界所遗忘的城市，在它逝去之后的近2000年时间里，就是以这种方式一直存活到了今天。