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At dawn on August 24, in the year AD 79, Pompeii's 25,000 people awakened to another hot day in that hot summer. There was going to be a contest in the arena that night and the whole town was looking forward to the bloody fights of the gladiators. The children headed toward school, carrying slates and followed by their dogs. In the forum the town's important men had gathered after breakfast to read the political signs that had been posted during the night. Elsewhere in the forum the wool merchants talked business. The banker was going over his account books. At the inn late-rising travelers from the East awakened and yawned and called for breakfast.
公元79年8月24日清晨，25000庞贝人睡醒，迎来了那个炎热夏季的又一个烈日。这天夜里在竞技场将有一场角斗，全城的人都期盼着角斗士之间血腥的搏斗。孩子们手拿石板奔向学校，身后跟着各自的狗。在市中心广场，市里的要人早饭后聚集在一起阅读夜里张贴出的通告；在广场的其他地方，羊毛商们在谈生意；钱庄老板正在核对账目；旅店里，来自东方的起晚的游客刚刚睡醒，打着哈欠嚷嚷着要吃早饭。
The quiet morning moved slowly along. There was nothing very unusual about Pompeii. But tragedy was on its way. Beneath Vesuvius' vine-covered slopes a mighty force was about to break loose. At one o'clock in the afternoon the critical point was reached. The mountain blew up, raining death on thousands. Down in Pompeii, for miles from the summit, a tremendous explosion was heard.
平静的上午渐渐过去，庞贝城没有任何异样的情况发生。然而灾难已经悄悄逼近。就在山坡上覆盖着攀藤植物的维苏威火山下，一股巨大的力量就要爆发了。下午一点钟的时候，重大的时刻终于到来，维苏威火山爆发了，给成千上万人带来了死亡。在距离火山口数千英里的庞贝城内，人们听到了巨大的爆炸声。
