英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十三册 Vacation Under the Volcano 4

　　Jack¹ pulled out his book and found a picture of thestrong men. He read aloud:

Gladiators were slaves or criminals who fought inthe amphitheater (AM-fuli-thee-uli-ter). They wereforced to fight each other or wild animals like lions orbears. The people of Pompeii thought a gladiator fightwas great fun.

"That's not fun!" said Annie. "No wonder I think it'sweird here.""No kidding," said Jack. "That's not like our time atall."Jack and Annie watched as the guards led thegladiators away. They went toward a building thatlooked like an outdoor stadium.

"That must be the amphitheater," said Jack. "Let'scheck it out.

"Oh, all right, but it's not a library," said Annie.

He and Annie started up the street toward theamphitheater. A large crowd had gathered near theentrance. Men and women cheered as the gladiatorsmarched inside.

Jack and Annie started to follow them, but a guardheld up his spear.

"No children allowed," he said stiffly. "Run alongnow.""Yes, run along! Run for your lives!" came a raspy,hissing voice.

Jack and Annie whirled around. It was thesoothsayer. She was waving her bony finger at them.

"Oh, no! Her again!" said Jack. "Let's get away fromhere." He started to take off.

"Wait!" said Annie. "I want to talk to her!""Are you crazy?" said Jack.

But before he could stop her, Annie ran up to thesoothsayer.

Jack watched from a distance as the woman talkedto Annie.

"Jack, come here! Quick!" called Annie.

"Oh, brother," said Jack. He sighed and went over toAnnie and the soothsayer.

"Tell him," said Annie.

The woman fixed² her gaze on Jack.

"All the streams of Pompeii have dried up," shesaid.

"Remember the stream near the olive grove³?" saidAnnie.

"So what?" said Jack. "Maybe they just ,,need rain.

"No," said Annie. "There're more scary things. Tellhim.""All the birds have flown away," the soothsayersaid.

Jack just stared at her.

"She said that all the rats left, too," said Annie.

"And the cows are making strange noises!""But why?" said Jack.

"The sea is boiling hot," the old woman said. "Andthe ground shakes and speaks.""See, I told you!" Annie said to Jack.

"But why are these things happening?"Jack asked the soothsayer.

"Because the end is near," she whispered hoarsely⁴.

"We have to leave now!" said Annie.

"But what about the library?" said Jack.

"What library?" the soothsayer asked.

"Show her the story title, Jack," said Annie.

Jack took the piece of paper from his bag.

He showed the Latin writing to the soothsayer.

"A book with this title is in a library in this town,"he said.

"So?" the old woman said.

"So we have to save it!" said Annie. She pulled outher secret library card.

The soothsayer stared for a moment at the card andthe shimmering⁵ letters on it. Then she smiled warmlyat Jack and Annie.

"Yes, I understand now," she said. "The only libraryI know is in the house of Brutus." She pointed⁶ to alarge villa⁷ at the end of the street. "Look there.

Quickly.""Will Brutus mind?" said Jack.

"Brutus and his household are all in Rome," thesoothsayer said. "That is merely their vacation villa.""But we can't just go in and take something oftheirs," said Jack.

The old woman shook her head sadly. "After today,there will be nothing left in Pompeii," she said.

"Nothing at all."Jack felt a chill go down his spine⁸.

"Go and get what you came here for," said thesoothsayer. "Then leave at once.""Thanks!" said Jack. He grabbed Annie's hand.

"Come on!""Thanks!" Annie called to the old woman. "Youshould leave, too!" she added.

Then Annie and Jack started running to thevacation villa. They ran as fast as they could.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

4 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

8 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。