英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十三册 Vacation Under the Volcano 3 Gladiators!

　　Jack¹ and Annie hid behind a fruit stall. They waitedfor a moment, then peered around the corner.

"I don't see her," said Jack.

"Who was she?" asked Annie.

"I don't know. But she looked nuts to me," said Jack.

"What's the book say about her?" said Annie.

"She won't be in there," said Jack.

"Just look," said Annie.

Jack sighed and pulled out the book again. To hissurprise he found a picture of the old woman. He readaloud:

In Roman times, there were people who could seeinto the future and warn others about what they saw.

These people were called soothsayers.

"See? She wasn't nuts," said Annie. "She was givingus a warning. Just like my night-mare.""Don't pay attention to that stuff," said Jack.

"Soothsayers are from olden times. People from ourtime don't believe in them.""Well, I do," said Annie. "I'm sure some-thing bad isabout to happen."Jack sighed. "Come on, we have to keep going. Wehave to find the lost library. Then we'll leave at once.""We'd better," said Annie.

They left the fruit stand and kept walking throughthe forum². Soon they came to a large building.

Crowds were streaming in and out of it.

"Is that a library?" said Annie.

"Let's look," said Jack. He looked in the Romanbook. He found a picture of the building and readaloud:

Most people in Pompeii did not have a bathtub athome, so they went daily to the Public Baths. Notonly did people wash at the baths, but they alsoswam, played sports, and visited with their friends.

"That sounds like going to the pool," said Annie.

"But it's not a library. Let's keep walking."They kept walking, until soon they came to a fancybuilding with large columns.

"Is that a library?" said Annie. Jack found a pictureof the building and read aloud:

The people of Pompeii believed that many gods andgoddesses ruled the world. This is the Temple ofJupiter, their chief god. h this temple, they prayed toJupiter and offered him gifts. Today, we call thestories about Jupiter and other gods and goddesses"myths.""My teacher read myths to us," said Jack. "Iremember stories about Hercules and Apollo.""Yeah, my teacher read them, too," said Annie. "Ilike stories about Venus and Medusa.""Hey, maybe the story we're looking for is a myth,"said Jack.

"Right," said Annie. "Come on, hurry. Let's keeplooking."They left the forum and turned onto a wide street.

Jack gasped³. In front of them was an incredible sight.

Tall warriors⁴ with huge muscles were walking in aline. They wore fancy helmets ( and carried heavyshields.

Soldiers, thought Jack.

Then he saw that the warriors' feet were chainedtogether, and guards walked with them.

"Gladiators!" he whispered.

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 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。