美国学生人类历史 第76期:罗马和迦太基(4)

 　　Rome began as a thousand American cities have done, by being a convenient place for barter¹ and horse-trading. It lay in the heart of the plains of central Italy The Tiber provided direct access to the sea. The land-road from north to south found here a convenient ford² which could be used all the year around. And seven little hills along the banks of the river offered the inhabitants a safe shelter against their enemies who lived in the mountains and those who lived beyond the horizon of the nearby sea.

　　罗马的起源就像1000座美国城市的起源，其发迹首先是由于地处要津，交 通便利，四乡八野的人们纷纷来此交 易货物、买卖马匹。罗马位于意大利中部平原的中心，台伯河为它提供了直接的出海口。一条贯通半岛南北的大道经过这里，一年四季都能使用，劳顿的旅人正好于此驻足稍憩。沿台伯河岸有7座小山，可为居民们用作抵御外敌的避难所。这些凶险的敌人有些来自周围的山地，有些来自地平线外的滨海地区。

　　The mountaineers were called the Sabines. They were a rough crowd with an unholy desire for easy plunder³. But they were very backward. They used stone axes and wooden shields and were no match for the Romans with their steel swords. The sea-people on the other hand were dangerous foes⁴. They were called the Etruscans and they were (and still are) one of the great mysteries of history. Nobody knew (or knows) whence they came; who they were; what had driven them away from their original homes. We have found the remains⁵ of their cities and their cemeteries⁶ and their waterworks all along the Italian coast. We are familiar with their inscriptions⁷. But as no one has ever been able to decipher the Etruscan alphabet, these written messages are, so far, merely annoying and not at all useful.

　　住在山地的敌人叫作萨宾人，他们行为粗野，心怀恶意，总希望通过劫掠来维持生活。不过他们很落后，所使用的武器仍然是石斧和木制盾牌，难以匹敌罗马人手中的钢剑。比较而言，滨海地区的人们才是真正危险的敌人。他们被称为伊特拉斯坎人，其来历至今依旧是历史学上的一个不解之谜，无人知晓他们何时定居于意大利西部滨海地区，属于哪个种族，以及是什么原因迫使他们离开了原来的家园？我们发现了他们城市的遗迹，他们的坟墓遗迹在意大利海岸上他们的水上建筑。他们留下的碑文随处可见，可由于无人通晓伊特拉斯坎文字，这些书写信息至今不过是些令人大伤脑筋的神秘图形。

1 barter   

n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• They have arranged food imports on a barter basis.他们以易货贸易的方式安排食品进口。

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 plunder   

vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠

参考例句：

• The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
• Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。

4 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

7 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。