Therefore the government volcanologists called in to monitor and forecast St. Helens's behavior primarily had seen only Hawaiian volcanoes in action, 因此，大多数被召集来监测和预报圣海伦斯火山活动的政府火山学家，只见过夏威夷的火山喷发。

　　and they, it turned out, were not the same thing at all. 结果证明，二者根本不是一回事。

　　St. Helens started its ominous rumblings on March 20. 3月20日，圣海伦斯火山开始发出不祥的隆隆声。

　　Within a week it was erupting magma, albeit in modest amounts, up to a hundred times a day, and being constantly shaken with earthquakes. 不出一个星期，它已经在喷出岩浆，尽管量不大，每天却多达100次，还常常伴有地震。

　　People were evacuated to what was assumed to be a safe distance of eight miles. 人们撤到了13公里以外被认为是安全的地方。

　　As the mountain's rumblings grew St. Helens became a tourist attraction for the world. 随着山里的隆隆声越来越响，圣海伦斯火山成了世界上一处旅游胜地。

　　Newspapers gave daily reports on the best places to get a view. 报纸每天都报道观看的最佳位置。

　　Television crews repeatedly flew in helicopters to the summit, and people were even seen climbing over the mountain. 电视记者不断乘直升机飞抵山顶，甚至看见有人爬过山去。

　　On one day, more than seventy copters and light aircraft circled the summit. 有一天，70多架直升机和轻型飞机在山顶上盘旋。

　　But as the days passed and the rumblings failed to develop into anything dramatic, 但是，时间一天天过去了，隆隆的声音并没有结出戏剧性的果实，

　　people grew restless, and the view became general that the volcano wasn't going to blow after all. 人们越来越不安，普遍认为这座火山毕竟还会喷发。

　　On April 19 the northern flank of the mountain began to bulge conspicuously. 4月19日，火山北侧开始明显鼓起。

　　Remarkably, no one in a position of responsibility saw that this strongly signaled a lateral blast. 不可思议的是，没有一个负责人明白，这显然预示着火山的一侧就要爆发。

　　The seismologists resolutely based their conclusions on the behavior of Hawaiian volcanoes, which don't blow out sideways.  火山学家们根据夏威夷的火山活动方式下了结论，认为火山不会侧面喷发。