世界小史 第145期:罗马人

 　　Carthage was still standing¹, a fact which many Romans would not accept, in particular a patrician² named Cato.

　　迦太基居然还存在，许多罗马人都不能容忍，特别是有一个名叫加图的执政官。

　　Cato was a just and honorable man, but notoriously severe.

　　加图是一个公正而尊贵的人，但他十分严肃。

　　Whenever the city council met at the Senate, no matter what was discussed,

　　但据说此人每次在罗马元老院议事时，不管讨论什么，

　　he is said to have ended every speech with the words: "For the rest, I propose that Carthage be destroyed."

　　每次结束时他都要说：“此外，我提议摧毁迦太基。”

　　And in the end that is precisely³ what they did.

　　最终他们做了这件事。

　　The Romans invented a pretext⁴ to attack.

　　罗马人找了一个借口发动进攻。

　　The Carthaginians defended themselves desperately⁵, and even after the city had fallen the Roman soldiers had to fight on, house by house,through the streets for six more days.

　　迦太基人拼死反抗，在罗马人攻陷了这座城市之后，他们还不得不为争夺每一幢房屋进行了6天之久的巷战，

　　When the city was finally conquered, every Carthaginian had either been killed or captured.

　　但是后来几乎所有的布匿人都被杀害或俘虏了。

　　The Romans razed⁶ all the houses and turned the land where Carthage had once stood into a plain.

　　罗马人拆毁所有的房屋，把昔日迦太基所在之地铲为平地。

　　It was 146 BC.

　　这事发生在公元前146年。

　　And that was the end of Hannibal's city.

　　这是汉尼拔的城市的末日。

　　Now Rome was the mightiest⁷ city in the world.

　　罗马已成为当时世界上最强大的城市。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 patrician   

adj.贵族的，显贵的；n.贵族；有教养的人；罗马帝国的地方官

参考例句：

• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
• Its patrician dignity was a picturesque sham.它的贵族的尊严只是一套华丽的伪装。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

5 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

6 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网