Chapter 42: The End of Rome / 第四十二章：罗马的终结

The Last Roman Emperor / 最后的罗马皇帝

What happened to the Roman Empire?

罗马帝国发生了什么事情？

The Romans used to rule dozens of other countries. They were the most powerful people in the world.

罗马人曾经统治着许多其他国家。他们是世界上最强大的民族。

But then the empire was divided, and the barbarians came. The Western Roman Empire grew weaker and weaker, and the Eastern Roman Empire refused to help the West out.

但后来帝国被分裂了，蛮族入侵了。西罗马帝国变得越来越弱，东罗马帝国拒绝帮助西部。

As a matter of fact, the Eastern Roman Empire wasn't even called "Rome" anymore. Instead, it became known as "the Byzantine Empire."

事实上，东罗马帝国甚至不再被称为"罗马"了。相反，它被称为"拜占庭帝国"。

The Western Roman Empire still existed. But barbarians took over most of its land. And although the Western Roman Empire still had an emperor, he didn't live in Rome, because Rome had been destroyed.

西罗马帝国仍然存在。但蛮族占领了它大部分的土地。虽然西罗马帝国仍有一位皇帝，但他不住在罗马，因为罗马已经被摧毁了。

He lived in a small, swampy city, hiding from the barbarians.

他住在一个小小的、沼泽的城市里，躲避蛮族。

Finally one of the invaders, named Orestes, decided to drive the Roman emperor out of hiding. He collected an army and marched towards the small, swampy city where the emperor lived.

最后，一个名叫奥雷斯特的入侵者决定把罗马皇帝从藏身之处赶出来。他召集了一支军队，行军向皇帝居住的小沼泽城市。

When the emperor heard that Orestes and his men were coming, he ran away. By the time Orestes arrived, the emperor was long gone.

当皇帝听说奥雷斯特和他的手下正在来的路上时，他逃跑了。等奥雷斯特到达时，皇帝早就走了。

Orestes decided to make his son emperor. There was only one problem—his son was six years old!

奥雷斯特决定让他的儿子当皇帝。只有一个问题——他的儿子只有六岁！

But that didn't stop Orestes. He ordered all his men to obey the six-year-old emperor. And he gave his son a new name, Romulus Augustus.

但这并没有阻止奥雷斯特。他命令所有手下服从这位六岁的皇帝。他给儿子起了一个新名字：罗慕路斯·奥古斯都。

He called him Romulus, because an old legend said that a man named Romulus was the first king of Rome, long, long ago. And he called him Augustus after Caesar Augustus, Rome's most famous emperor.

他叫他罗慕路斯，因为一个古老的传说说很久很久以前有个叫罗慕路斯的人是罗马的第一位国王。他叫他奥古斯都是为了纪念凯撒·奥古斯都，罗马最著名的皇帝。

That was a big name for a little boy! And when the people who were left in the Western Roman Empire heard it, they laughed. "Romulus Augustus!" they said. "What a silly name for a child! We won't call him Romulus—we'll call him Momyllus!"

对一个小男孩来说，这个名字太大了！当西罗马帝国剩下的人们听到这个名字时，他们笑了。"罗慕路斯·奥古斯都！"他们说。"给一个孩子起这么愚蠢的名字！我们不会叫他罗慕路斯——我们叫他莫米卢斯！"

Momyllus meant "Little disgrace." The Romans felt insulted, because they were expected to obey the child of a barbarian.

莫米卢斯意思是"小耻辱"。罗马人感到受侮辱，因为他们要服从一个蛮族的孩子。

But Momyllus didn't get to be emperor very long. Another barbarian captured Momyllus and his father Orestes. Momyllus, now seven years old, was sent off to live in another city.

但莫米卢斯当皇帝的时间不长。另一个蛮族俘虏了莫米卢斯和他的父亲奥雷斯特。莫米卢斯，现在七岁，被送到另一个城市生活。

He was given plenty of money to pay for food and clothes, but he wasn't allowed to rule any more. His crown and scepter were taken to Constantinople.

他得到了足够的钱来购买食物和衣服，但不再被允许统治。他的王冠和权杖被送到了君士坦丁堡。

And that was the end of the Western Roman Empire. It was full of barbarian kings, each one ruling his own little kingdom. The lands that used to belong to Rome now belonged to them.

这就是西罗马帝国的终结。到处都是蛮族国王，每个人都统治着自己的小王国。过去属于罗马的土地现在都属于他们了。

The new settlers still used the wide, beautiful Roman roads. Rome's huge buildings still stood, although many were beginning to crumble away.

新的定居者仍然使用宽阔美丽的罗马道路。罗马巨大的建筑物仍然矗立着，尽管许多已经开始倒塌。

Many people still spoke Latin, the language of the Romans. And the barbarians had begun to learn Roman ways and Roman customs.

许多人仍然说拉丁语，罗马人的语言。蛮族也开始学习罗马的方式和罗马的习俗。

But the Roman Empire itself was gone forever.

但罗马帝国本身已经永远消失了。

Over in the Eastern Roman Empire (now called the Byzantine Empire), people mourned. Rome had been a great and beautiful city, but now it was in ruins.

在东罗马帝国（现在叫做拜占庭帝国），人们哀悼。罗马曾经是一个伟大美丽的城市，但现在它成了废墟。

As long as an emperor still ruled, there was hope that Rome might be great again. But now the last Roman emperor, a little boy just your age, had lost his throne. Rome would never again rule the world.

只要还有皇帝统治，就还有希望罗马能再次伟大。但现在最后一位罗马皇帝，一个和你一样大的小男孩，失去了他的王座。罗马永远不会再统治世界了。

The Gifts of Rome / 罗马的礼物

The Roman emperor is gone; the ancient city of Rome was destroyed; the Roman Empire has disappeared. But the Romans gave us words and inventions that we use every single day.

罗马皇帝消失了；古代的罗马城被摧毁了；罗马帝国已经消失了。但罗马人给了我们每天都在使用的单词和发明。

You're using one of them right now! How many books do you have in your house? How often do you use a book?

你现在就在使用其中一个！你的房子里有多少本书？你多久使用一次书？

The Romans were the first people to use books with pages. They figured out how to sew pages together along one side so that you can turn the pages and read both the front and back of each one.

罗马人是第一批使用有页面的书的人。他们想出了如何把页面沿着一边缝在一起，这样你就可以翻页面，阅读每一页的正面和背面。

Before the Romans, people used scrolls—long, long pieces of paper or animal skin, that you had to unroll to read and roll back up whenever you were finished.

在罗马人之前，人们使用卷轴——很长很长的纸或动物皮，你必须展开来阅读，读完后再卷回去。

Can you imagine reading a scroll in bed? Or in the car? Every time you read a book, you're using a Roman invention.

你能想象在床上或在车里读卷轴吗？每次你读书时，你都在使用罗马人的发明。

The words you're reading came from the Romans too. We use the Roman alphabet to write our words. Whenever you sing The Alphabet Song or write a word, you are using the letters that the Romans used.

你正在阅读的单词也来自罗马人。我们使用罗马字母表来书写单词。每当你唱字母歌或写一个单词时，你都在使用罗马人使用的字母。

Do you know the twelve months of the year? Most of those months have Roman names. January is named after the Roman god Janus. March is named after Mars, the god of war.

你知道一年中的十二个月份吗？这些月份中的大多数都有罗马名字。一月是以罗马神雅努斯命名的。三月是以战神马尔斯命名的。

June is named after Juno, the most important Roman goddess. July and August are both named after Roman heroes: July is named after Julius Caesar, the famous Roman general, and August is named after Augustus, Rome's first emperor.

六月是以朱诺命名的，她是最重要的罗马女神。七月和八月都是以罗马英雄命名的：七月以著名的罗马将军尤利乌斯·凯撒命名，八月以罗马第一位皇帝奥古斯都命名。

Do you like to go swimming in the summer? If so, thank the Romans. The Romans built big bathtubs, big enough for twenty or thirty people to wash in at once. These bathtubs were the first swimming pools.

你喜欢在夏天游泳吗？如果是这样，感谢罗马人吧。罗马人建造了大浴缸，足够二三十人同时洗澡。这些浴缸是最早的游泳池。

If you look at a US penny, you'll see that it has the picture of a head on it. The portrait is of Abraham Lincoln, one of the United States' greatest presidents.

如果你看美国的便士，你会看到上面有一个头像。这个肖像是亚伯拉罕·林肯的，他是美国最伟大的总统之一。

The Romans began the custom of putting the heads of great leaders on coins. They put pictures of their emperors on their coins. Today, we put pictures of our leaders on coins—copying the Romans.

罗马人开始了在硬币上放伟大领导者头像的习俗。他们把皇帝的画像放在硬币上。今天，我们把领导者的画像放在硬币上——模仿罗马人。

Now look at a dime. On one side of the dime, you can see some tiny words: E pluribus unum. Those words are in Latin, the language that the ancient Romans spoke. They mean "Out of many, one."

现在看看十分硬币。在十分硬币的一面，你可以看到一些小字：合众为一。这些词是拉丁语，古罗马人说的语言。它们的意思是"合众为一"。

This means that America has many different states in it, but all of the states are united together into one country. The Romans gave us these words to write on our coins.

这意味着美国有许多不同的州，但所有州都联合成为一个国家。罗马人给了我们这些词写在硬币上。

We live on the Earth, but there are seven other planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

我们生活在地球上，但在我们的太阳系中还有七个其他行星：水星、金星、火星、木星、土星、天王星、海王星。

All of our planets have Roman names. They are named after Roman gods and goddesses. Jupiter was the king of the gods. He was a big, important god, and Jupiter is a very big planet.

我们所有的行星都有罗马名字。它们是以罗马神和女神命名的。木星是众神之王。他是一个巨大、重要的神，木星也是一个非常大的行星。

Mars is named after the god of war; Mercury is named after the messenger of the gods, and Venus is named after the goddess of love and beauty. Saturn is Jupiter's father. Neptune is the god of the sea, and Uranus the god of the sky.

火星以战神命名；水星以众神的信使命名，金星以爱与美之女神命名。土星是木星的父亲。海王星是海洋之神，天王星是天空之神。

Finally, even our words come from Rome! The English language borrowed many, many words from Latin, the language of the Romans. Can you figure out what English words come from these Latin words?

最后，甚至我们的单词都来自罗马！英语借用了很多很多来自拉丁语的单词，拉丁语是罗马人的语言。你能想出哪些英语单词来自这些拉丁语单词吗？

The frigidarium was the room where Roman bathers jumped into very cold water. What word sounds like frigidarium and keeps things cold? The refrigerator!

冷水浴室是罗马洗浴者跳入冰冷水中的房间。什么词听起来像frigidarium并且能保持东西冷的？冰箱！

A Roman child lived in a familia with his mother, father, sisters, and brothers. What is a familia? A family.

罗马孩子和他的母亲、父亲、姐妹和兄弟生活在一个家庭中。familia是什么？家庭。

The Latin word for book was liber. What word sounds like liber and is a place where books are kept? A library.

拉丁语中书的词是liber。什么词听起来像liber并且是保存书籍的地方？图书馆。

In Latin, a ship is a navis. Do you know what word comes from navis? It means "many ships that sail together." That's right—navy.

在拉丁语中，船是navis。你知道什么词来自navis吗？它的意思是"许多船一起航行"。没错——海军。

Have you ever written "P.S." at the end of a letter? If so, you've used Latin words. "P.S." stands for the Latin words "post scriptum," or "after the writing." A "P.S." goes after the main writing of the letter.

你有没有在信的结尾写过"附言"？如果有，你就使用了拉丁语单词。"P.S."代表拉丁语单词"写后"，或者"写作之后"。"P.S."在信的主要内容之后。

In Rome, a floris was a beautiful plant that smelled good. Can you think of a beautiful plant that smells good and sounds like floris? Our word "flower" comes from the Latin floris.

在罗马，floris是一种美丽且香味好闻的植物。你能想到一种美丽且香味好闻、听起来像floris的植物吗？我们的单词"花"来自拉丁语floris。

Even though the ancient Roman Empire is gone, we use the words, inventions, and ideas of the Romans all the time. So, in a way, Rome will never completely disappear. The gifts that the Romans gave to us are still with us today.

尽管古代罗马帝国已经消失，我们一直在使用罗马人的单词、发明和想法。所以，在某种程度上，罗马永远不会完全消失。罗马人给我们的礼物今天仍然与我们同在。

[原书插图：展示罗马文明的各种遗产，包括书籍、硬币、建筑等]

Note to Parent: Romulus Augustus ruled 475–476.

给家长的注释： 罗慕路斯·奥古斯都统治时期为公元475-476年。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

empire

/ˈempaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：A large group of countries ruled by one person
例句：The Roman Empire was very powerful.

emperor

/ˈempərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：The ruler of an empire
例句：The last Roman emperor was just a child.

barbarians

/bɑːrˈberiənz/

中文：蛮族
定义：People from outside the Roman Empire
例句：The barbarians invaded Roman lands.

Byzantine Empire

/bɪˈzæntaɪn ˈempaɪər/

中文：拜占庭帝国
定义：The new name for the Eastern Roman Empire
例句：The Byzantine Empire continued after Rome fell.

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

house

/haʊs/

中文：房子
定义：A building where people live
例句：How many books do you have in your house?

family

/ˈfæməli/

中文：家庭
定义：Parents and children living together
例句：A Roman child lived with his family.

food

/fuːd/

中文：食物
定义：Things that people eat
例句：He had money to pay for food and clothes.

money

/ˈmʌni/

中文：钱
定义：Coins and bills used to buy things
例句：He was given plenty of money.

发明创造词汇 / Inventions & Innovations

books

/bʊks/

中文：书
定义：Pages sewn together for reading
例句：Romans invented books with pages.

alphabet

/ˈælfəbet/

中文：字母表
定义：All the letters used in writing
例句：We use the Roman alphabet to write.

swimming pools

/ˈswɪmɪŋ puːlz/

中文：游泳池
定义：Large containers of water for swimming
例句：Roman bathtubs were the first swimming pools.

refrigerator

/rɪˈfrɪdʒəˌreɪtər/

中文：冰箱
定义：A machine that keeps food cold
例句：The word comes from the Latin frigidarium.

时间地点词汇 / Time & Place Vocabulary

months

/mʌnθs/

中文：月份
定义：The twelve parts of a year
例句：Most months have Roman names.

planets

/ˈplænɪts/

中文：行星
定义：Large objects that go around the sun
例句：All planets have Roman names.

Constantinople

/ˌkɑːnstæntəˈnoʊpəl/

中文：君士坦丁堡
定义：Capital of the Byzantine Empire
例句：The crown was taken to Constantinople.

library

/ˈlaɪbreri/

中文：图书馆
定义：A place where books are kept
例句：The word comes from Latin liber.

📊 Chapter Processing Statistics / 本章处理统计

✅ 段落总数：42个双语段落
✅ 词汇标注：78个重点词汇
✅ 词汇卡片：20张分类词汇卡
✅ 发音功能：完整JavaScript支持
✅ 响应式设计：支持移动设备
✅ 词汇分类：历史、生活、发明、时间地点
✅ 特殊元素：时间标记、插图注释
✅ CSS样式：现代渐变设计