2021年12月大學英語六級閱讀練習：古羅馬人

life in ancient rome

the ancient romans are probably best remembered as fighters. fighting was certainly one of their favourite activities. according to the legend, the city of rome was founded by the twin sons of mars — the god of war. 1 the romans were such successful fighters that no one could resist them. at its height2, the roman empire stretched from britain in the west to persia in the east, and from germany in the north down to africa. the most famous roman leaders were soldiers —agrippa , hadrian, mark antony and julius caesar3 and the greatest works of roman literature described many battles these leaders fought.

even in peacetime the most popular form of sport in rome was a battle between two professional fighters called gladiators. these men fought each other with swords and spears. usually one gladiator killed the other. gladiators also fought wild animals for the amusement of the roman crowds. such entertainments were called circuses, and it was often said that“bread and circuses”4 were the only two things the romans needed to be happy.

but the romans did not spend all their time fighting. they were great builders. they built wonderful temples and public squares, heated baths and leisure centers, huge arches5 to celebrate the victories of their generals, and fine private houses, decorated with statues, fountains and mosaics. their ideas of town planning were very advanced. the roads they built were stright and strong. in many parts of europe, roman roads are still in use. 6

閱讀自測

Ⅰ. according to the p as sage , fill in the blanks with proper words:

1. one of the favourite activities in ancient rome was_____________ .

2. the entertainments that gladiators fought wild animals for amusement were called circuses, so there was a saying that_____________ and_____________ were the only two things the romans needed to be happy.

3. romans were great builders. they built wonderful_____________ and public squares, heated houses and_____________ and huge arches.

4. the roman empire was a wide state and it stretched from_____________ in the west to persia in the_____________ , and from germany in the north down to _______

Ⅱ. question :

list two proverbs which are in relation to rome.

參考答案

Ⅰ. 1. fighting 2. bread / circuses 3 . temples / leisure centers 4. britain / east / africa Ⅱ. the die is cast. all roads lead to rome.

參考譯文

古羅馬人

古 羅馬人最爲出名的可能要算鬥士。搏鬥理所當然地成爲他們深愛的運動項目之一。 據傳說記載, 羅馬城是由戰神馬耳斯的雙胞胎兒子所建。羅馬人都是戰功赫赫的鬥士, 所 向無 敵。羅馬帝國鼎盛時期, 其疆域向西擴展至不列顛, 東到波斯, 自北面的德國向南直達 非洲。羅馬最的——— 阿格里帕、哈德良、馬克· 安東尼、尤利烏斯· 愷撒都是鬥 士, 而且羅馬文學中最偉大的著作對這些指揮的戰鬥都有所描述。

即使是和平年代, 羅馬最流行的運動形式也是在被稱爲角鬥士的兩名專業鬥士之間進 行的搏鬥。過去這些人用劍和矛對打, 經常是兩者必有一死。爲了讓羅馬羣衆娛樂, 角鬥 士還與野生動物打鬥。這類娛樂方式被稱爲競技。人們常說, 只要有了“ 麪包和競技”這兩 樣東西, 羅馬人就可以過得快活了。

但是, 羅馬人並沒把所有時間都花在搏鬥上。他們也是偉大的建設者。他們建造了奇 特的廟宇、公共廣場、溫泉浴場、休閒中心、慶祝將軍們凱旋而歸的巨大拱門, 以及裝飾有雕 像、噴泉和鑲嵌圖案的漂亮的私人會所。羅馬人的城市規劃思想非常先進。他們修造的道 路筆直而且堅固。在現代歐洲的許多地方, 羅馬人修築的道路仍在使用。

閱讀導評

競技場上, 角鬥士與角鬥士, 角鬥士與野獸之間進行着殊死搏鬥。看臺上, 古羅馬皇帝 及貴族們聞着血腥味無動於衷地觀看着搏鬥。這是最慘無人道的表演。就是這種表演, 竟 然可以持續一百天! 最終, 古羅馬帝國滅亡了。那些驕奢淫逸的貴族們永遠地被釘在歷史 的恥辱柱上, 那些勇敢的鬥士被永遠地載入史冊, 那些偉大的建築則成了今天的名勝。

閱讀導釋

1. 傳說戰神馬耳斯與一位國王的女兒生了對雙胞胎羅穆盧斯( romulus) 和瑞摩斯( remus) 。然而, 邪惡的舅舅把他們丟棄在臺伯河( tiber river ) 上, 任其自生自滅。幸運 的雙胞胎並沒有被淹死。他們由一隻母狼哺養長大, 後來被獵人救出。兩人成年後, 決定建立城市。在修築城牆時兩人發生爭吵, 羅穆盧斯殺死瑞摩斯成爲羅馬城創建者及 “ 王政時代”的國王。今天羅馬城市的中心仍有一尊母狼哺乳嬰兒的青銅像。至 今, 羅馬城徽的圖案就是一隻母狼哺乳兩個嬰兒。

2. 這個詞是形容詞high 的名詞形式, 意思是“頂峯, 頂點, 極度”, 如: reach the height of the mountain ( 到達山頂) ; the storm was at its height. ( 風暴正猛。)

3. agrippa ( 阿格里帕, 63? —12bc) , 羅馬帝國皇帝奧古斯都的密友、副手和得力將領, 歷 任執政官、護民官和帝國宰相。hadrian ( 哈德良, 76—138) , 奧古斯都( 117—138 ) 對外 採取謹守邊境政策, 對內加強極權統治, 數次巡行帝國各地, 在不列顛境內築“ 哈德良長 城”, 鎮壓猶太人暴動( 132—135) , 編纂羅馬法典, 獎勵文藝。mark antony ( 馬克·安東 尼, 82? —30bc) , 古羅馬統帥和政治, 與李必達( lepidus, ? —77? bc) 、屋大維 ( octavian, 63bc—14ad) 結成“ 後三頭”政治聯盟。julius caesar ( 尤利烏斯·愷撒, 100—44bc) , 羅馬統帥和政治家, 與龐培( pompey, 106—48bc) 、克拉蘇( crassus, 115— 53bc) 結成“前三頭同盟”後擊敗龐培, 成爲羅馬獨裁者( 49—44bc) , 後來被共和派貴 族刺殺。他曾編訂定儒略曆, 著有《高盧戰記》。諺語“the die is cast. ( 木已成舟。) ”即 出自愷撒。

4. 這個詞組已經從它的本意“ 麪包和馬戲表演”引申爲“政府或其他統治集團出於安撫目 的款待公衆的麪包和馬戲欣賞、食物和娛樂”, 也可指“ 福利”, 意思同welfare, 如: on the direct orders of the new leaders, it was bread and circuses time this week. ( 由於新領導人 直接下令, 這個星期是老百姓享受吃喝玩樂的日子。)

5. 這個詞的意思是“ 拱門, 拱型建築”, 如: the arch of triumph( 凱旋門) 。

6. 文章最後兩句話也許是英語諺語“all roads lead to rome. ”的最初含義。但是, 不管是不 是這樣, 大家對“ 條條大道通羅馬”應該有更深的理解吧。