The Rise 罗马崛起 - 09

【collation】
As it approached the 5th century BC, Rome was emerging from its legendary¹ past into the real world of recorded history. It was now a thriving province of the Etruscan world ruled by Etruscan kings. Primitive² mud and thatch³ huts of Rome's early days had given way to a city of brick. Rome was absorbing people from surrounding lands and growing fast. Etruscan and Greek traders met in its busy streets. Phoenician boats from Sicily and North Africa sailed the Tiber. Wine, olives and gold flooded into Italy. But Rome was still no different from many other prosperous cities of the Mediterranean⁴. What first set it apart was not its capacity for trade or engineering or even warfare⁵, but its ability to organize itself.

The man who reshaped Roman society was an Etruscan king called Servius Tullius. There are no statues of him. We have no idea what he looked like, he never became as famous as later rulers of Rome, but his mark on history maybe even greater. And yet all Servius Tullius did was carrying out history's first census⁶.

Now the census, the Roman census was a very important institution, they would count the Roman citizens all right and list them and then distribute them in their appropriate classes and political units and so on. The census was a kind of way of grading Roman citizens according to their status and prestige.

In the 6th century BC, the census detailed⁷ every Roman's obligations to the city- to obey its laws, pay taxes and do military service. But much more important, it also gave them rights. This was the great innovation of Servius. In proportion to their contribution, Romans were given a say in how their city was run. Servius sowed the seeds of representational government, he organized an assembly to govern the city and gave it a name, the Senate. Finally, census decreed that each of the city's social classes should contribute a group of soldiers for Rome's defense⁸. They were called the legions, the fighting force that was going to put Rome's destiny back in its own hands and one day give it the world.

1 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

6 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。