2,000 Years ago, the Roman Empire, the greatest empire the world has ever known, was shaken to its
core by the worst natural disaster to strike the ancient world.
to the/its/etc core: so that the whole of a thing or a person is affected
But this volcano has been quiet for over 1,500 years.
The land around Pompeii is fertile, rich with minerals spewed out by the volcano thousands of years
before.
spew (out): stir: to flow out quickly, or to make sth flow ojut quickly, in large amounts
Deep beneath the ground, through a weak spot in the earth's crust, molten rock, or magma, has been
leaking.
crust: a hard layer or surface, especially above or around sth soft or liquid
molten: heated to a very high temperature so that it becomes liquid
magma: very hot liquid rock found below the earth’s surface
A thick plug of rock in the neck of the volcano blocks its exit.
Around 1:00 p.m. on August 24, A.D. 79, Vesuvius roars back to life.
AD / A.D.: used in the Christian calendar to show a particular number of years since the year when
Christ was believed to have been born (from Latin ‘Anno Domini’)
BC / B.C.: used in the Christian calendar to show a particular number of years before the year when
Christ is believed to have been born
Trapped in a super-heated pressure cauldron for 1,500 years, the molten rock has turned not to lava,
but to foam.
cauldron: a large deep pot for boiling liquids or cooking food over a fire
foam: a mass of very small air bubbles on the surface of a liquid
Ejected at supersonic speed, it forms a churning column that rises into the sky.
churning: moving around violently
Just minutes after the eruption, the column of super-heated rock and gas has climbed 15km into the
sky.
The top of the column loses its upward thrust as it climbs and then crawls across the sky.
thrust: a sudden strong movement that pushes sth/sb forward
crawl: to move forward very slowly
Propelled high into the atmosphere, the boiling rock mixes with air, cools, solidifies, and then begins to
fall.
propel: to move, drive, or push sth forward or in a particular direction
solifify: to become solid
Cooled, but still full of air, the magma has formed pumice stones.
magma: very hot liquid rock found below the earth’s surface
Cold, dense rocks have been torn from the inside of the volcano.
tear tore torn: remove sth from sth else by pulling it roughly or violently
By mid-afternoon, Vesuvius has already thrown over 100 million tons of pumice and ash on Pompeii.
pumice: a type of grey stone that come from volcanoes and is very light in weight. It is used in powder
form for cleaning and polishing, and in pieces for rubbing on the skin to make it softer.
As the pumice continues to fall, it blocks doorways, trapping those sheltering inside.
The pumice and ash suck moisture from the air, parching the throat and mouth.
ash: the grey or black powder that is left after sth, especially tobacco, wood or coal, has burnt
parch: make dry
Now heavier with denser rock, part of the column collapsed and cascaded down the mountain in a
great wave.
collapse: to fall down or fall in suddenly, often after breaking apart
cascade: to flow downwards in large amlounts
Super-heated ash and molten rock churned down the volcano in a racing, burning avalanche.
avalanche: a mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain
This blistering wave headed straight towards Herculaneum and the people on the beach.
blistering: extremely hot in a way that is uncomfortable
Five times hotter than boiling water, this cloud of gas and ash incinerates everything and everyone in
its path.
incinerate: to burn sth until it is completely destroyed
Teeth and bone shattered like fragile glass under boiling water.
shatter: to suddenly break into small pieces
When the eruption finally stopped, Herculaneum and its victims lay buried under 25 meters of volcanic
debris.
debris /də'bri:/(AmE); /'debri:, 'deɪbri:/(BrE): pieces of wood, metal, brick, etc. that are left after
sth has been destroyed.
But in the early hours of the morning, it's still the falling pumice that causes the most distress.
distress: a feeling of great worry or unhappiness; great suffering.
Miraculously, the surge cloud runs out of energy just short of the northern wall.
But a cloud of toxic gas carried by the surge quickly spreads through the streets and houses.
From the side of the column, a blistering wave of ash and rock explodes.
Nothing else that comes from a volcano is so hot or moves with such devastating power.
Traveling at more than 100kmph, it will take just a few minutes for the pyroclastic surge to reach
Pompeii.
The first breath inhales hot gas and ash, causing the lungs to fill with fluid.
inhale: to take air, smoke, gas, etc. into your lungs as you breathe
The second breath mixes ash with the fluid, creating a wet cement in the lungs and windpipe.
windpipe: the tube in the throat that carries air to the lungs (syn. trachea)
The third breath thickens the cement, causing the victims to gasp for breath and suffocate.
thicken: to become thicker
gasp for breath: to have difficulty breathing
suffocate: to die because there is no air to breathe; to kill sb by not letting them breathe air
drown: to die because you have been underwater too long and you cannot breathe; to kill sb in this
way
After 18 hours of eruption, the bottom section of the column collapses spectacularly.
The final and greatest surge travels right across the bay of Naples in a black cloud of death.
The final surge kills thousands who had fled into the countryside.
flee fled fled: to leave a person or place very quickly, especially because you are afraid of possible
danger.
Pliny's description of the surge clouds that swept from Vesuvius were so bizarre, it was not believed.
sweep swept swept: (of weather, fire, etc.) to move suddenly and/or with force over an area or in a
particular direction
We now know that these explosive volcanic events can happen just as he described.
In just 18 hours, Vesuvius spewed out more than 10 billion tons of pumice, rock, and ash.
spew: to flow out quickly, or to make sth flow out quickly, in large amounts.
A rescue attempt was launched from Rome, but the devastation was simply too great.
The ash had formed a seal around the city like a time capsule, preserving temples, shops, streets, and
houses.
seal: a substance, strip of material, etc. used to fill a crack so that air, liquid, etc. cannot get in or out
But most poignant of all are the casts – victims whose bodies decayed, leaving only their shapes
preserved in the ash that smothered them.
poignant: having a strong effect on your feelings, especially in a way that makes you feel sad
smother: to cover sth/sb thickly or with too much of sth
Vesuvius has never again erupted with the same apocalyptic force as on that hot summer's day in A.D.
79.
erupt: when a volcano erupts or burning rocks, smoke, etc. erupt or are erupted, the burning rocks, etc.
are thrown out from the volcano.
apocalyptic: describing very serious damage and destruction in past or future events; like the end of
the world
According to the experts, Plinian eruptions of this scale only happen every 2,000 years.
THE END