Lesson 1Stories from History

Do you know the city of Pompeii?

Pompeii is located in southwest Italy and was built at the foot of Mount Vesuvius ( 维苏威火山 ).

Mount Vesuvius

The tragedy occurred.

The last day of Pompeii

Pompeii, a buried city

People gathered together to comfort each other in their last hours of life.

One person, sitting alone, looks like he

is praying.

The man, lying on his side, looks as if he is trying to get up.

Pompeii: The city that became a time capsule

volcanic eruptionpreservecapsulewitness

occurtremble

block outparticularly

火山爆发vt. 保护，保存n. 胶囊，太空舱v. 目击vi. 发生vi. 颤抖，发抖堵住adv. 特别地，特定地

Words review

lossawesomein a way

rewindarchitecture

authenticcharacteristic

monument

n. 遗失，丢失adj. 令人敬畏的从某种程度上v. 倒回n. 建筑adj. 真正的，原作的adj. 典型的n. 纪念碑，纪念堂

Words review

gatheron one’s side

sorrowsympathy

burstsplit up

on the way topay rise

v. 聚集侧身n. 悲伤，难过n. 同情vi. 爆炸，冲，闯断绝关系，分成小部分在去……的路上增加工资

Words review

Skim the passage to get main ideas

Reading Comprehension Ⅰ

Choose the best answer.

What’s the passage mainly about?A. A terrible volcanic eruption.B. Something happened to Pompeii.C. Scientists found Pompeii.D. Pompeii disappeared within a minute.

Reading Comprehension Ⅱ

Match the main ideas with the paragraphs.The exact shapes of the people.

Pompeii today.

Vesuvius erupted.

Pompeii was entirely forgotten.

Pompeii is like a “time capsule”.

The lost city was found.

Para. 1

Para. 2

Para. 3

Para. 4

Para. 5

Para. 6

Scan the passage to get detailed information

Reading Comprehension ⅢTrue or False?1. Pompeii was an old Asian city which experienced disaster in 79 AD.2. It was 2000 years later that scientists found the city of Pompeii.3. Today, more and more people visit Pompeii to watch the shapes of the people buried in the ash.4. From the historical site, we guess that Pompeii was a booming city.

1. Why does the article describe Pompeii as a “time capsule”?

2. What had Pompeii been like before the eruption?

Reading Comprehension IV

Answer the questions.

Because it preserves a frozen moment in history.

It had been a booming city with temples, markets, restaurants and theaters.

3. What can you see if you walk in the

streets of Pompeii today?Now as you walk along the streets of the city, you can admire the ancient architecture, statues, decorated walls and authentic objects characteristic of the time.

Reading Comprehension V

Complete the summary of the text. Pliny was a Roman writer who had ________ ________ the ________volcanic eruption which ________ on August 24th,79 AD. The tragedy had left a deep __________ on Pliny whose uncle died in the event. The whole towns and villages were _____ by the ashes of Mt Vesuvius.

witnessed terribleoccurred

impression

buried

By 1748, scientists had found the _______ site. It is like a “time capsule” __________ a frozen moment in history. Though the bodies of people who died in Pompeii had decayed for many years, the bodies showed their _____ shapes. Today, people visit Pompeii every year to learn more about the ancient world. In this way, the city _______ nearly 2,000 years after its ____.

historicalpreserving

lives on

loss

exact

Discussing:If you meet a disaster, such as

volcano eruption or earthquake, what will you do?

Make a TIME CAPSULE by yourself: Write to yourself an e-mail,you can talk about anything you like and receive it 20 years later. What’s your feeling then?