时差N小时 爱琴海上最神秘的火山岛屿(上)（在线收听）

Fira is a typical Greek city overlooking the Aegean Sea.

菲拉是一座典型的希腊城市，在这里可以俯瞰爱琴海。

Sitting atop a twelve hundred foot cliff on Santorini Island, it’s an ideal vacation spot.

这座城市坐落在圣托里尼岛1200英尺高的悬崖顶端，是一处理想的度假胜地。

But this island wasn’t always a paradise. Thirty five hundred years ago, it was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in historic times.

然而，这座岛屿之前并不一直是人间天堂。3500年前，这里发生了史上最大规模之一的火山爆发。

The Santorini volcano blew up with very little warning, causing a massive tsunami that destroyed coastal towns around the Mediterranean.

圣托里尼火山爆发前几乎毫无征兆，这次的爆发引发了一场巨大的海啸，摧毁了地中海沿岸的城镇。

The volcano collapsed to form what looks like a collection of small islands, but the islands are actually part of the rim of its four mile wide sunken caldera.

火山塌陷后形成了如今的一座座小岛。这些岛屿其实是四英里宽的破火山口边缘的一部分。

The volcano’s long slumber, followed by such a sudden and massive eruption, was a puzzle to scientists.

圣托里尼火山经过长期的沉寂，突然间大规模的喷发现象令科学家们困惑不已。

Why does a volcano sit dormant for thousands of years and then suddenly erupt?

为何一座火山在休眠数千年后突然喷发呢？

Scientists think they have found a clue in layers of crystal rock.

科学家们认为，他们已在结晶岩层中发现了一条线索。