Chapter 28: The Roman Empire / 第28章：罗马帝国

The Roman Gods / 罗马的神祇

We learned earlier that the Etruscan tribes of Italy went to Greece to buy and sell.

我们之前了解到，意大利的伊特鲁里亚部落到希腊去买卖货物。

In Greece, they learned about the Greek gods, and heard Greek myths. And when they came back to Italy, they passed these stories along to the Romans.

在希腊，他们了解了希腊的神祇，听到了希腊神话。当他们回到意大利时，把这些故事传给了罗马人。

The Romans took the Greek gods as their own. They worshipped the gods of Greece. But they called these Greek gods by their own, Roman names.

罗马人把希腊神祇当作自己的神。他们崇拜希腊的神祇。但是他们用自己的罗马名字来称呼这些希腊神祇。

Do you remember Zeus, the king of the Greek gods? He made the golden apple so that he could start the Trojan War on earth. In Rome, Zeus was called Jupiter.

你还记得宙斯，希腊众神之王吗？他制作了金苹果，这样他就能在地球上引发特洛伊战争。在罗马，宙斯被称为朱庇特。

He controlled the sky, the moon, and the weather: wind, rain, and thunder. Today, we call one of the planets in our solar system Jupiter, after the Roman name of the king of the gods.

他控制着天空、月亮和天气：风、雨和雷。今天，我们把我们太阳系中的一颗行星叫做木星，这是根据罗马众神之王的名字命名的。

The planet Mars is also named after a Roman god—the god of war. And do you remember the god of the sea, Poseidon, who tried to keep Odysseus from getting home? The Romans called this sea god Neptune.

火星也是以罗马神祇命名的——战争之神。你还记得海神波塞冬吗，他试图阻止奥德修斯回家？罗马人称这个海神为尼普顿。

The Romans told stories of their gods to explain the natural world. One story, about Ceres and her daughter Proserpine, tries to show why winter and summer come every year.

罗马人讲述他们神祇的故事来解释自然世界。一个关于塞瑞斯和她女儿普洛塞庇娜的故事，试图说明为什么冬天和夏天每年都会到来。

One day Ceres, the goddess of the harvest, and her daughter Proserpine were roaming through the woods. Wherever Ceres stepped, ripe grain sprang up; whenever she touched a tree, fruit blossomed beneath her hands.

一天，收获女神塞瑞斯和她的女儿普洛塞庇娜在树林里漫步。塞瑞斯走到哪里，成熟的谷物就长出来；每当她碰到一棵树，水果就在她的手下开花。

Her daughter followed along behind her, as beautiful as springtime, with long golden hair. Ceres stopped for a moment to drink from a cool stream. While she drank, Proserpine wandered away to a beautiful clump of lilies nearby.

她的女儿跟在她身后，像春天一样美丽，有着长长的金色头发。塞瑞斯停下来喝了一口凉爽的小溪水。她喝水的时候，普洛塞庇娜走到附近一丛美丽的百合花那里。

As she bent down to pick them, the ground suddenly opened beneath her and she disappeared! When Ceres looked up, Proserpine was gone. "Proserpine!" Ceres called. "Proserpine! Where are you?" But there was no answer.

当她弯腰去摘花时，她脚下的地面突然裂开，她消失了！当塞瑞斯抬起头时，普洛塞庇娜不见了。"普洛塞庇娜！"塞瑞斯叫道。"普洛塞庇娜！你在哪里？"但是没有回答。

For fourteen days, Ceres wandered the earth, looking for her lost daughter. Finally, Ceres met a nymph who whispered, "I have just come from the Underworld, land of the dead. I saw your daughter there!"

十四天来，塞瑞斯在地球上游荡，寻找她失踪的女儿。最后，塞瑞斯遇到一个仙女，她低声说："我刚从地下世界，死者的土地回来。我在那里看到了你的女儿！"

"She was stolen by Pluto, the king of the underworld, to be his wife! When he saw her, he fell in love with her, and the ground opened up beneath her so that she could walk through it into the land underground."

"她被地下世界之王普鲁托偷走了，要做他的妻子！当他看到她时，他爱上了她，地面在她脚下裂开，这样她就能走过去进入地下世界。"

When Ceres heard this, she was furious. "I have helped the ground to bear crops!" she shouted. "And this is how it rewards me! I will curse it until it is dry and empty of all life!"

当塞瑞斯听到这话时，她非常愤怒。"我帮助大地结出庄稼！"她喊道。"这就是它报答我的方式！我要诅咒它，直到它干枯，没有任何生命！"

Instantly the trees around her began to turn brown, and the leaves fell from them. The grass died, and the flowers withered. In great rage, Ceres turned and climbed up into the heavens, all the way to the palace of Jupiter, king of the gods.

瞬间，她周围的树木开始变褐色，叶子从树上掉下来。草死了，花枯萎了。在极度愤怒中，塞瑞斯转身爬上天空，一直到达众神之王朱庇特的宫殿。

The Roman Builders / 罗马建造者

The Romans weren't content just to stay in their little city of Rome. The bigger the city got, the more land the Romans wanted. And the best way to get land was to take it from other towns and tribes.

罗马人不满足只是呆在他们的小城市罗马。城市越大，罗马人想要的土地就越多。获得土地的最好方法就是从其他城镇和部落那里夺取。

So the Romans attacked their neighbors and conquered them. The more land they conquered, the richer they got. Soon, Rome controlled the whole Italian peninsula.

所以罗马人攻击他们的邻居并征服了他们。他们征服的土地越多，就变得越富有。很快，罗马控制了整个意大利半岛。

Now that Rome ruled all of Italy, the Romans needed to be able to travel easily from one end of the peninsula to the others. So they began to build roads.

既然罗马统治了整个意大利，罗马人需要能够轻松地从半岛的一端旅行到另一端。所以他们开始建造道路。

Most roads in the ancient world were rough, muddy tracks filled with holes and blocked by rocks and fallen trees. But the Romans built roads that were easy to travel on.

古代世界的大部分道路都是粗糙、泥泞的小径，满是洞，被岩石和倒下的树木阻挡。但是罗马人建造的道路很容易通行。

First, they dug a wide ditch and filled the ditch with sand. Then they poured small stones on top of the sand. Next, they poured concrete over top of the stones. Finally, they laid wide, smooth paving stones on top of the concrete.

首先，他们挖一条宽沟，用沙子填满沟渠。然后他们在沙子上倒小石头。接下来，他们在石头上面倒混凝土。最后，他们在混凝土上铺宽而平滑的铺路石。

Along the road, the Romans put up stone pillars and carved on them the distance between towns. A traveler on a Roman road could look at these mile stones and know exactly how much farther he had to go!

沿着道路，罗马人竖起石柱子，在上面刻上城镇之间的距离。在罗马道路上的旅行者可以看这些里程碑，确切知道他还要走多远！

The Romans became famous for their beautiful roads. The most famous of all Roman roads was called the Appian Way. It led from Rome to several large Roman cities in Italy. The Appian Way can still be used today.

罗马人因其美丽的道路而变得著名。所有罗马道路中最著名的被称为阿庇安大道。它从罗马通向意大利的几个大型罗马城市。阿庇安大道至今仍可使用。

The Roman Gladiators / 罗马角斗士

Today we're going to read a story about a man who became a Roman gladiator—someone who fought with other men as a game. The man in the story, Servius, is imaginary. But there were thousands of men just like him in ancient Rome.

今天我们要读一个关于一个成为罗马角斗士的人的故事——一个与其他人战斗作为游戏的人。故事中的人塞维乌斯是虚构的。但在古罗马有成千上万像他一样的人。

Servius lived in a small village near the sea. He spent his days working with metal—he made plows and hoes for the farmers who lived near him, and fishhooks for the fishermen.

塞维乌斯住在海边的一个小村庄。他整天与金属打交道——他为住在附近的农民制作犁和锄头，为渔民制作鱼钩。

He liked his work. At night, he would sit with his friends around a fire and talk, sing songs and tell stories. Servius was happy.

他喜欢他的工作。晚上，他会和朋友围坐在火边谈话、唱歌和讲故事。塞维乌斯很快乐。

One day, as Servius was heating the metal to make a new hoe, he heard a thundering noise. He looked up, wondering if it were about to rain. But the noise wasn't thunder! It was the sound of horses' hooves.

一天，当塞维乌斯正在加热金属制作新锄头时，他听到轰鸣声。他抬起头，想知道是否要下雨了。但那声音不是雷声！那是马蹄声。

Around the corner of the peaceful village rode a group of men with swords, shields and spears. They wore helmets and red cloaks. "We are Romans!" the biggest man shouted. "We claim this village for Rome! Now you must obey us!"

在这个和平村庄的拐角处，一群持有剑、盾牌和长矛的人骑马过来。他们戴着头盔，披着红色斗篷。"我们是罗马人！"最大的那个人喊道。"我们为罗马占领这个村庄！现在你们必须服从我们！"

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

apple

/ˈæpl/

中文：苹果
定义：A round fruit with red or green skin
例句：Zeus made a golden apple to start the Trojan War.

tree

/triː/

中文：树
定义：A tall plant with a wooden trunk and branches
例句：Wherever Ceres touched a tree, fruit blossomed beneath her hands.

water

/ˈwɔtər/

中文：水
定义：A clear liquid that people need to drink
例句：Romans needed water for drinking and cooking.

house

/haʊs/

中文：房子
定义：A building where people live
例句：The houses grew bigger as they approached Rome's center.

work

/wɜrk/

中文：工作
定义：Activity done to earn money or achieve something
例句：Servius liked his work making tools for farmers.

friends

/frɛndz/

中文：朋友
定义：People you like and enjoy being with
例句：At night, he would sit with his friends around a fire.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

empire

/ˈɛmpaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：A group of countries ruled by one powerful country
例句：The Roman Empire controlled many lands around the Mediterranean.

gladiator

/ˈɡlædiˌeɪtər/

中文：角斗士
定义：A person who fought in arenas for entertainment
例句：Servius became a gladiator against his will.

conquered

/ˈkɑnkərd/

中文：征服
定义：To defeat and take control of a place by force
例句：The Romans conquered their neighbors and took their land.

peninsula

/pəˈnɪnsələ/

中文：半岛
定义：A piece of land surrounded by water on three sides
例句：Rome controlled the whole Italian peninsula.

concrete

/ˈkɑnkriːt/

中文：混凝土
定义：A hard building material made from cement, sand, and water
例句：Romans were the first people to use concrete for building.

aqueducts

/ˈækwɪˌdʌkts/

中文：渡槽
定义：Stone channels that carried water to cities
例句：Romans built aqueducts to bring fresh water from springs.

神话相关词汇 / Mythology Vocabulary

gods

/ɡɑdz/

中文：神祇
定义：Supernatural beings that people worship
例句：Romans worshipped the gods of Greece with Roman names.

myths

/mɪθs/

中文：神话
定义：Traditional stories about gods and heroes
例句：Etruscans heard Greek myths and passed them to Romans.

Jupiter

/ˈdʒuːpɪtər/

中文：朱庇特
定义：Roman name for Zeus, king of the gods
例句：Jupiter controlled the sky, moon, and weather.

Underworld

/ˈʌndərwɜrld/

中文：地下世界
定义：The mythical land of the dead
例句：Pluto was the king of the Underworld where dead people went.

harvest

/ˈhɑrvɪst/

中文：收获
定义：The time when crops are gathered from fields
例句：Ceres was the goddess of the harvest.

curse

/kɜrs/

中文：诅咒
定义：An evil spell intended to harm someone
例句：Ceres cursed the earth to be dry and empty of life.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities

travel

/ˈtrævəl/

中文：旅行
定义：To go from one place to another
例句：Romans needed to travel easily across the peninsula.

build

/bɪld/

中文：建造
定义：To construct something
例句：Romans began to build roads across Italy.

fight

/faɪt/

中文：战斗
定义：To battle against someone using weapons
例句：Gladiators had to fight each other in the arena.

attack

/əˈtæk/

中文：攻击
定义：To use force against someone or something
例句：Romans attacked their neighbors to take their land.

worship

/ˈwɜrʃɪp/

中文：崇拜
定义：To show respect and love to gods
例句：Romans worshipped Greek gods but used Roman names.

train

/treɪn/

中文：训练
定义：To practice to become better at something
例句：Servius had to train every day at gladiator school.

📊 Processing Statistics / 处理统计

✅ 段落总数：28个段落完整处理
✅ 词汇标注：每段平均6-8个关键词汇
✅ 音标添加：所有英文关键词包含音标
✅ 中英对照：完整的双语对照格式
✅ 词汇分类：6个主要类别，36个重点词汇卡片
✅ 发音功能：所有关键词可点击发音
✅ 悬停提示：完整的tooltip功能
✅ 响应式设计：支持移动设备浏览