: Fill in the gap with the given words.

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archaeological          thrived                        volcanic                     structures                  peak

destination                giant                           poured                       remained                   dead

communities             city                              forgotten                    farmers                       killing

Mount Vesuvius erupts

On August 24, after centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and (1)__dead______ thousands. The cities, buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud, were never rebuilt and largely (2)__st_____ in the course of history. In the 18th century, Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered and excavated, providing an unprecedented (3)__________ record of the everyday life of an ancient civilization, startlingly preserved in sudden death.

The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum (4)__________ near the base of Mount Vesuvius at the Bay of Naples. In the time of the early Roman Empire, 20,000 people lived in Pompeii, including merchants, manufacturers, and (5)__________ who exploited the rich soil of the region with numerous vineyards and orchards. None suspected that the black fertile earth was the legacy of earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Herculaneum was a city of 5,000 and a favorite summer (6)_________ for rich Romans. Named for the mythic hero Hercules, Herculaneum housed opulent villas and grand Roman baths. Gambling artifacts (7)_________ in Herculaneum and a brothel unearthed in Pompeii attest to the decadent nature of the cities. There were smaller resort (8)__________ in the area as well, such as the quiet little town of Stabiae.

At noon on August 24, 79 A.D., this pleasure and prosperity came to an end when the (9)________ of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12 hours, (10)_________ ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city’s occupants to flee in terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or stone (11)__________, hoping to wait out the eruption.

A westerly wind protected Herculaneum from the initial stage of the eruption, but then a (12)________ cloud of hot ash and gas surged down the western flank of Vesuvius, engulfing the city and burning or asphyxiating all who (13)_________. This lethal cloud was followed by a flood of volcanic mud and rock, burying the city.

The people who remained in Pompeii were killed on the morning of August 25 when a cloud of toxic gas (14)________ into the city, suffocating all that remained. A flow of rock and ash followed, collapsing roofs and walls and burying the (15)_________.