Chapter 1 - The Glory That Was Rome / 第一章 - 罗马的辉煌

Wandering Through the Roman Empire / 漫游罗马帝国

What if you owned a magic carpet? You could use it to fly around the world—and back in time.

如果你拥有一张魔法地毯会怎么样？你可以用它在世界各地飞行——甚至回到过去的时代。

Let's imagine that you're going to fly back past the time that you were born, back to the days when people used horses to get around. Then you're going to fly back to the Middle Ages, back to the days of knights and castles.

让我们想象你将飞行回到你出生之前的时代，回到人们使用马匹出行的日子。然后你将飞回到中世纪，回到骑士和城堡的时代。

Then you're going to go back even farther, to the time of the Romans.

然后你还要回到更远的过去，回到罗马人的时代。

Your magic carpet stops. You're hovering high in the air, above the Mediterranean Sea. From your seat on the carpet, you can look down and see the Mediterranean. It looks a little bit like a duck flying.

你的魔法地毯停了下来。你正悬浮在高高的空中，在地中海上空。从你坐在地毯上的位置，你可以俯视地中海。它看起来有点像一只正在飞行的鸭子。

You notice that the land all around the Mediterranean is glowing yellow! This is the land that belongs to the Roman Empire, the biggest, most powerful empire in the world.

你注意到地中海周围的土地都在发着黄光！这是属于罗马帝国的土地，它是世界上最大、最强大的帝国。

For hundreds of years, Roman soldiers have been attacking and conquering the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Now, the emperor of Rome rules all of these conquered countries.

数百年来，罗马士兵一直在攻击和征服地中海周围的国家。现在，罗马的皇帝统治着所有这些被征服的国家。

They obey the laws of Rome, speak the language of Rome, and serve the emperor of Rome.

他们服从罗马的法律，说罗马的语言，并服务于罗马皇帝。

[原书插图：罗马帝国分裂地图]

Your magic carpet swoops down towards the Mediterranean Sea, towards a piece of land that looks like a boot sticking out into the middle of the water. This is Italy, the center of the Roman Empire.

你的魔法地毯俯冲向地中海，冲向一块看起来像靴子伸入水中的土地。这就是意大利，罗马帝国的中心。

And the most important city in Italy is Rome itself, right in the middle of the boot.

意大利最重要的城市就是罗马本身，正好位于这只靴子的中部。

Your carpet dives down into the middle of the city. You're carried along paved streets, through crowds of people. They are wearing white robes, draped over their shoulders and caught up around the waist with belts of leather.

你的地毯俯冲到城市中心。你沿着铺设好的街道穿行，穿过人群。他们穿着白色的长袍，披在肩膀上，腰间系着皮制腰带。

They wear cloaks of red, blue, and other bright colors. Tall buildings rise up on either side of you—ancient apartment buildings, made out of concrete.

他们穿着红色、蓝色和其他鲜艳颜色的斗篷。高大的建筑物在你两侧拔地而起——这些是古老的公寓楼，用混凝土建造。

On your right, you see an enormous circular wall curving away from you; it looms high over your head. On the other side of the wall, you hear the clash of metal against metal and the roar of an excited crowd.

在你的右边，你看到一堵巨大的圆形墙壁向远处延伸；它高高耸立在你头顶上方。在墙的另一边，你听到金属碰撞的撞击声和兴奋人群的咆哮声。

This must be the Coliseum, the huge amphitheater where gladiators fight to the death, chariot racers careen around a track, and lions battle with Roman soldiers for the entertainment of Roman spectators.

这一定是斗兽场，这个巨大的圆形剧场里角斗士进行死亡搏斗，战车赛车手在跑道上疾驰，狮子与罗马士兵战斗，为罗马观众提供娱乐。

The Fall of Rome / 罗马的衰落

The emperors of Rome were called "The Rulers of the Whole World." But they had a problem: The world was too big to rule!

罗马的皇帝们被称为"整个世界的统治者"。但他们有一个问题：这个世界太大了，难以统治！

The Roman Empire was so large that the army couldn't protect its borders. And there were plenty of people outside the Roman Empire who wanted to come in and take parts of it away.

罗马帝国如此庞大，以至于军队无法保护它的边界。而且在罗马帝国外有很多人想要进来夺取它的部分领土。

Finally, an emperor named Diocletian came to the throne. He decided that the empire was too big for one ruler and one army to protect. So he divided the Roman Empire into two parts.

最终，一位名叫戴克里先的皇帝登上了王座。他认为帝国太大，一个统治者和一支军队无法保护。所以他将罗马帝国分割成两部分。

The part of the empire with Italy and Rome in it was called the Western Roman Empire. The part with Asia Minor and Egypt in it was called the Eastern Roman Empire.

包含意大利和罗马的那部分被称为西罗马帝国。包含小亚细亚和埃及的那部分被称为东罗马帝国。

Diocletian decided to divide the Roman Empire in the year 286. We call this year "AD 286" or "CE 286." Both of those abbreviations mean that Diocletian's decision happened 286 years after the birth of Jesus.

戴克里先决定在公元286年分割罗马帝国。我们称这一年为"AD 286"或"CE 286"。这两个缩写都意味着戴克里先的决定发生在耶稣诞生后286年。

Two hundred years after Diocletian's death, the Western Roman Empire was finally conquered by barbarian tribes. In 410 AD (or CE), barbarians burned Rome and carried away all of its treasures. Nothing was left but the Roman roads and bridges.

戴克里先死后两百年，西罗马帝国最终被野蛮人部落征服了。在公元410年，野蛮人烧毁了罗马，带走了所有的财宝。除了罗马的道路和桥梁，什么都没有留下。

[原书插图：野蛮人战士]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

world

/wɜːrld/

中文：世界
定义：地球及其上的所有国家和人民
例句：Rome was called "The Ruler of the Whole World!"

people

/ˈpiːpəl/

中文：人们
定义：人类，民众
例句：People used horses to get around in ancient times.

time

/taɪm/

中文：时间
定义：过去、现在或将来的某个时刻
例句：Let's go back in time to ancient Rome.

city

/ˈsɪti/

中文：城市
定义：大型的城镇，通常有政府和商业中心
例句：Rome was the most important city in Italy.

house

/haʊs/

中文：房子
定义：供人居住的建筑物
例句：Barbarians didn't live in houses like Romans did.

water

/ˈwɔːtər/

中文：水
定义：无色透明的液体，生命必需
例句：Italy looks like a boot sticking into the water.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

empire

/ˈɛmpaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：由皇帝统治的大型国家或国家集团
例句：The Roman Empire was the most powerful empire in the world.

emperor

/ˈɛmpərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：帝国的最高统治者
例句：The emperor of Rome ruled many conquered countries.

soldiers

/ˈsoʊldʒərz/

中文：士兵
定义：军队中的战士
例句：Roman soldiers conquered countries around the Mediterranean.

conquered

/ˈkɑːŋkərd/

中文：被征服的
定义：被军事力量占领和控制的
例句：Rome ruled all the conquered countries around the Mediterranean.

barbarians

/bɑːrˈbɛriənz/

中文：野蛮人
定义：古罗马人对外族人的称呼
例句：Barbarians lived in tents and fought on horseback.

gladiators

/ˈɡlædiˌeɪtərz/

中文：角斗士
定义：在竞技场中战斗以娱乐观众的战士
例句：Gladiators fought to the death in the Coliseum.

地理相关词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

Mediterranean Sea

/ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən siː/

中文：地中海
定义：欧洲、非洲和亚洲之间的海域
例句：You can see the Mediterranean from your magic carpet.

Italy

/ˈɪtəli/

中文：意大利
定义：欧洲南部的靴子形半岛国家
例句：Italy was the center of the Roman Empire.

Rome

/roʊm/

中文：罗马
定义：意大利首都，古罗马帝国的中心
例句：Rome was the most important city in the empire.

borders

/ˈbɔːrdərz/

中文：边界
定义：国家或地区之间的分界线
例句：The Roman army couldn't protect all the borders.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities

fly

/flaɪ/

中文：飞行
定义：在空中移动
例句：You could fly around the world on a magic carpet.

attacking

/əˈtækɪŋ/

中文：攻击
定义：使用武力进攻
例句：Roman soldiers were attacking neighboring countries.

rules

/rulz/

中文：统治
定义：作为统治者进行管理
例句：The emperor rules all the conquered countries.

obey

/oʊˈbeɪ/

中文：服从
定义：遵守命令或法律
例句：All conquered peoples had to obey Roman laws.

divided

/dɪˈvaɪdɪd/

中文：分割
定义：分成几个部分
例句：Diocletian divided the empire into two parts.

burned

/bɜːrnd/

中文：烧毁
定义：用火焚烧
例句：Barbarians burned Rome and took its treasures.

📊 Chapter Processing Statistics / 章节处理统计

✅ 总段落数量: 20个段落
✅ 词汇标注总数: 68个重点词汇
✅ 词汇表分类: 4个主要类别
✅ 词汇卡片数量: 24张
✅ 特殊时间标记: 公元286年, 公元410年
✅ 原书插图标记: 2处
✅ 发音功能: 已启用
✅ 悬停提示: 已启用