It was the storm that swept up the Roman empire and whirled it into extinction. 这就是席卷罗马帝国并将其毁灭的雷雨，

　　For the Germanic tribes didn't stop when they reached Gaul and Spain. 因为这些日耳曼部落也没有留在法国和西班牙。

　　The Vandals, for instance, captured Carthage in 439 and used it as a base from which they launched their pirate ships to loot and burn the coastal towns. 汪达尔人就这样穿过意大利雨果西西里向古老的迦太基进发，他们在那里建立了一个海盗国家并乘坐他们的船只驶向各海岸城市，他们占领并劫掠这些城市。

　　They ravaged Sicily and crossed into Italy. 罗马也遭受他们的大肆掠夺。

　　Today we still talk of 'vandalism', even though the Vandals were really no worse than many others. 人们今天还在说汪达尔人对文化艺术的摧残，其实汪达尔人并不比许多别的部落坏

　　As for the Huns, they were worse. 可是这时匈奴人又来了，他们更坏。

　　They now had a new king: Attila. In 444 he was at the height of his power. 他们有一位新国王阿提拉，他在444年掌权。

　　Can you remember who was in power 444 years before Christ's birth? Pericles, in Athens. 你还知道，公元前444年谁掌权呢？伯利克利在雅典。

　　Those were the best of times. But Attila was in every way his opposite. 这是最美好的时期，阿提拉确实在各方面都同伯利克利完全相反。

　　People said that wherever he trod, the grass ceased to grow. 人们这样说他：他走到哪儿，哪儿便寸草不长。