英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十三册 Vacation Under the Volcano 8 Nightmare at Noon

　　In the distance, fire burst from Mount Vesuvius.

Burning rocks and fiery¹ ash fell from the sky.

The hot, dusty air smelled like rotten eggs as Jackand Annie rushed down the street. In the forum,everyone--shoppers, soldiers, gladiators, fruit sellers-wasrunning in every direction.

Stalls had collapsed³. Carts were sliding.

Jack² froze. He didn't know where to go.

"That way!" shouted Annie.

Jack followed her as they ran past the Temple ofJupiter. Its mighty⁴ columns had fallen, and its wallswere crumbling⁵.

They ran past the Public Baths just as its roof cavedin.

"Which way now?" shouted Annie.

"The tree house is in the olive grove⁶!" Jack said asthey kept running.

"The olive grove and the bridge are near the streetwith all those open shops!" said Annie. "Rememberthe bridge?"Jack looked up at the erupting mountain. A red-hotcloud billowed over it. Fires burned on its slopes.

"Head in the direction of Mount Vesuvius!" he said.

"It was behind us as we came into Pompeii.""Right!" cried Annie.

So while others ran away from Mount Vesuvius,Jack and Annie ran toward it.

On the street with the open shops, baskets andbroken jars rolled over the cracked stones.

Jack and Annie ran past the bakery and the shoeshop. They ran past the butcher shop and barbershop.

All the shops were empty. Their owners had fled.

The closer they got to the volcano, the more theground trembled. The darker and dustier it got.

14"This is just like my nightmare!" cried Annie.

Jack choked on the rotten fumes⁷. His eyes watered.

"Look! The olive grove!" shouted Annie.

1 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

2 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。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

6 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。

7 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。