Pompeii
Robert Silverberg
Pompeii
Unit 10
W arming up
B ackground
T ext Analysis
R einforcement
Pompeii
Unit 10
Questions / Activities
Check-on Preview
Objectives
Warming up
Warming up
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Questions / Activities
Why does the author call Pompeii a strange city?
What happened to the city?
What was the city like before it was destroyed?
What are some other natural disasters in world
history that you have learned about?
Warming up
Check-on Preview
Match the words with their correct meaning in the text.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
hurl
graze
cram
intact
mighty
shatter
a. very strong or powerful
b. to suddenly break into small pieces
c. to throw violently in a particular direction
e. to eat grass growing in a field
f. to push sb./sth. into a small place
g. complete and not damaged
Warming up
Objectives
• Understand the structure and the general idea of the text
• Know something about the history of Pompeii and what
happened in AD 79
• Be able to use specific verbs to describe things
• Be able to create a dominant impression by using words
about five senses
• Know something about natural disasters like volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, tornado etc.
Pompeii
Unit 10
Author
Background
Culture Tips
His Life
Background
Author
Robert Silverberg (born
January 15, 1935) is an
American author, best
known for writing
science fiction.
In 1956 he graduated
from Columbia
University, having
majored in Comparative
Literature.
Background
Culture Tips
• Naples is the capital of
Campania and the third-largest
city in Italy, after Rome and
Milan. It has a population of
nearly one million within its
administrative limits on a land
area of 117.3 km2 (45 sq mi).
The urban area of Naples
extends beyond the
administrative city limits, with a
population of above three
million.
Background
Culture Tips
• The city of Pompeii is a partially
buried Roman town-city near
modern Naples. Pompeii was
partially destroyed and buried
under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of ash
and pumice in the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, and it
was lost for nearly 1700 years
before its accidental rediscovery
in 1749. Since then, its excavation
has provided an extraordinarily
detailed insight into the life of a
city during the Pax Romana. Today,
this UNESCO World Heritage Site
is one of the most popular tourist
attractions of Italy, with
approximately 2,500,000 visitors
every year.
Background
Culture Tips
Pompeii the Last Day
• A multidisciplinary study of the
eruption products and victims
indicates that at Vesuvius and
surrounding towns, heat was the
main cause of death of people,
previously believed to have died
from ash suffocation. The results
of the study, published in 2010,
show that exposure to at least
250 °C hot surges at a distance
of 10 kilometers from the vent
was sufficient to cause instant
death, even if people were
sheltered within buildings.
Background
Culture Tips
• Mount Vesuvius is best known
for its eruption in AD 79 that
led to the burying and
destruction of the Roman cities
of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
They were never rebuilt,
although surviving
townspeople and probably
looters did undertake
extensive salvage work after
the destructions. The towns'
Pompeii, with Vesuvius towering above
locations were eventually
forgotten until their accidental
rediscovery in the 18th century.
Mount Vesuvius
Background
Culture Tips
Vesuvius from plane
Inside the crater of Vesuvius
Background
Culture Tips
Jupiter is the king of the gods and the
god of sky and thunder. Jupiter was the
chief deity of Roman state religion
throughout the Republican and Imperial
eras, until the Empire came under
Christian rule.
Jupiter is thought to have originated as a
sky god. His identifying implement is the
thunderbolt, and his primary sacred
animal is the eagle, which held
precedence over other birds in the
taking of auspices and became one of
the most common symbols of the Roman
army.
Background
Culture Tips
Apollo is one of the most
important and complex
Olympian deities in ancient
Greek and Roman religion, Greek
and Roman mythology.
Apollo has been variously
recognized as a god of light and
the Sun, truth and prophecy,
healing, plague, music, poetry,
and more.
Apollo is the son of Zeus and
Leto, and has a twin sister, the
chaste huntress Artemis.
Background
Culture Tips
• Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious
beliefs. She was worshipped as the ideal
mother and wife as well as the patron of
nature and magic. She was the friend of
slaves, sinners, artisans, and the
downtrodden, and she listened to the prayers
of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats, and
rulers. Isis is also known as protector of the
dead and goddess of children.
• The name Isis means "Throne". Her
headdress is a throne. As the personification
of the throne, she was an important
representation of the pharaoh's power. The
pharaoh was depicted as her child, who sat
on the throne she provided.
Pompeii
Unit 10
Text Analysis
Structure
Detailed
Analysis
Text Analysis
Structure
Part I: Para. 1-7
• A brief account of Pompeii before and after
August 24, AD79.
Part II: Para. 8-9
• A detailed description of what happened on
the day of the eruption.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Main Idea
• What was the city like before the eruption?
• What were people in Pompeii doing before the
eruption?
• If the city had not been destroyed by the
volcanic eruption, what would it be like today?
Text
Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Words & Expressions
Words
erupt; strike; perish; shroud; intact; clatter;
shimmer
Phrases
Phrases
no other; come down; hide from; break
through; be in place; come to life; be in port;
clear away
Sentence
Pattern
the day + that clause; to do …is to do.; …is all
one needs to do.
Grammar
inversion
Words
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
strike (para. 4)
to cause a person or place to suffer severely from the effects of
something very unpleasant that happens suddenly
e.g.
1. I've got a life insurance policy that will look after my family if
disaster strikes.
2. The disease has struck the whole community, sometimes wiping
out whole families.
3. They predict that a large earthquake will strike the east coast
before the end of the decade.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
perish (para. 4)
to die, especially in an accident or by being killed, or to be
destroyed
e.g.
1. Three hundred people perished in the earthquake.
2. He believes that Europe must create closer ties or it will
perish.
3. "Publish or perish" is a phrase coined to describe the
pressure in academia to rapidly and continuously publish
academic work to sustain or further one's career.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
a rain of sth.(para. 4)
a rain of sth.: a large number of things that fall from the
sky at the same time.
e.g. A rain of abuse has been heaped upon him.
他遭到好一顿咒骂。
这类用法属于暗喻（metaphor），相似例子如下：
 A storm of applause rose from the audience. 观众一 阵喝彩。
 The charges touched off a storm of protest. 那些指控激起了猛
烈的抗议。
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
shroud (para.5)
a layer of something which covers or surrounds
something
e.g.
1. Everything was covered in a thick shroud of dust.
2. The truth about the accident remains hidden
beneath a shroud of secrecy.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
shimmer (para.6)
to shine in such a way that the light seems to shake slightly
and quickly
e.g.
1. She could see her reflection in the water, shimmering in
the moonlight.
Compare shimmer with other verbs like sparkle, twinkle
and glisten.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
restore sth. to sth. (para.7)
1. The stolen goods were all restored to their owners.
被偷窃的东西都归还给原主了。
2. The house has been restored to its original splendor.
这座房子已经恢复了当初的光彩。
3. The city was finally restored to tranquility.
这座城市最后终于恢复了平静。
4. After years of neglecting, the palace has been
restored to its former glory.
经过若干年的沉寂，这座宫殿恢复了以往的壮丽。
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Sentence Paraphrase
Beneath the protecting shroud of ash, the city
lay intact. (para 5.)
Paragraphing: The city remained as it had been
before the eruption. It had been protected by
the thick layer of ash that buried the city deep.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Sentence Paraphrase
A good imagination is all you need to restore it
to activity. (para. 7)
Paraphrasing: If you have a good imagination
you will be able to imagine what was going on
－ the sights, sounds, smells and activities of a
busy, prosperous Roman town.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Exercises
Translate the following sentences into English.
1.我的学校里没有别的美国人了。
There are no other Americans in my school.
2.他们最近已经从伦敦搬到乡村来住。
They've recently come down from London to live in the village.
3.你是不是有什么事要瞒着我？
Are you trying to hide something from me?
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
4.不久，绿色的嫩芽就会破土而出。
Soon, tiny green shoots will break through the soil's surface.
5.书都放得整整齐齐，井井有条。
The books were all neatly in place, carefully arranged.
6.一个年轻女孩翻阅着家庭相册，童年记忆重回眼前。
A young girl's childhood memories come to life as she thumbs
through her family photograph album.
7.我们的工作是清除这些垃圾。
Our job is to clear away the rubbish.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Main Idea
• What did people do after eruption?
• What caused the greatest loss of life?
• Did anyone survive the volcanic eruption? How did
they manage to do it?
• What would you do if you had been there in
Pompeii?
Text
Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Words & Expressions
Words
vine-covered; summit; reverberate; pumice;
overwhelm;
cluster
Phrases
Phrases
break loose; blow up; branch out; die away; go
by; be at hand; make one’s way; be in store;
lose consciousness; shower of stones
Words
Sentence
Pattern
Grammar
past participle as attributive
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
summit (para. 9)
other popular usages of summit:
1. an important formal meeting between leaders of
governments from two or more countries
• a summit meeting
• World leaders will meet next week for their annual economic
summit.
2. the highest, most successful or most important point in
something
• I certainly haven't reached the summit of my career.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
reverberate(para. 13)
LITERARY If a loud deep sound reverberates, it
continues to be heard around an area, so that
the area seems to shake
• The narrow street reverberated with/to the
sound of the workmen's drills.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
overwhelm (para. 18)
1. The village was overwhelmed by ash from the volcano.
村子被火山灰覆盖。
2. When he saw the dressmaker‘s daughter, he was
overwhelmed by her beauty.
当他见到了裁缝师的女儿，马上为她的美貌倾倒。
3. I was overwhelmed by the sight of the tomb.
我为这陵墓的景象所慑服。
4. If one was overwhelmed by passion, it could lead to
serious blunders.
当人的感情完全淹没理智时，就可能铸成大错。
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
cluster (para. 19)
a group of similar things that are close together,
sometimes surrounding something
e.g.
1. Have a look at the cluster of galaxies in this
photograph.
2. There was a cluster of fans around him, asking for
autographs.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Sentence Paraphrase
The sound of the explosion died away, but it still
reverberated in everyone’s ears. (para. 13)
Paragraphing: Even when the loud sound stopped,
people did not recover from the shock.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Sentence Paraphrase
An hour went by and darkness still shrouded
everything. (para. 14)
Paragraphing: An hour passed, things did not
improve and darkness covered everything.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Sentence Paraphrase
Rushing throngs, blinded by the darkness and the smoke,
rushed up one street and down the next, trampling the
fallen in a crazy fruitless dash toward safety. (para. 17)
Paragraphing: People panicked. They rushed into the
streets to escape the falling buildings. It was dark and the
air was full of smoke so they could not see where they
are going. They rushed up one street and down the next
in a hopeless attempt to reach safety. In their blind rush
they ran over the bodies of people who had fallen down.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Exercises
Translate the following sentences into English.
1.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
A mighty force was about to break loose.
2.他只得把火吹旺使它烧起来。
He had to blow up the fire to make it burn.
3.公司的业务从汽车零售扩大到汽车出租。
From car retail the company branch out into car leasing.
4.台风过后，风渐渐平息了。
The winds died away after the typhoon had passed.
5.胜利即将到来。
Victory is at hand.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Exercises
6.随着时光流逝，多少人来了又走，留下无尽故事。
As time goes by, numerous people come and go, with countless
stories left here.
7.我们设法从购物的人潮中挤过去。
We tried to make our way through the crowds of shoppers.
8.一场新的灾难即将向庞培袭来。
A new trouble was in store for Pompeii.
9.虽然我没有失去知觉，但那剧烈的疼痛确实难忍。
Though I did not lose my consciousness, the sharp pain was really
killing me.
Pompeii
Unit 10
Discussion
Reinforcement
Retelling
Reinforcement
Retelling
• Suppose you survived the
volcanic eruption, retell how
you managed to escape to
your partner.
• Suppose you are a visitor in
Pompeii, retell what you
have seen to your partner.
• In both retellings, please use
as many specific words as
you can to make your
account vivid.
Reinforcement
Discussion
• What makes ruins like
Pompeii well-known?
• Ruins of quake-hit Sichuan
now become new tourist
hotspots. Is it suitable to
develop “disaster tourism”?
• What insights about life do
tourist expect to gain?