世界小史 第179期:罗马人

 　　They built a wall, known as the Limes, along the length of the frontier from the Rhine to the Danube.

　　在从莱茵河到多瑙河的边境建造了一道城墙，

　　This wall, made of palisades with watchtowers and ditches, was intended to protect the empire from the nomadic¹ German tribes.

　　一道有塞栅、壕沟和眺望塔的城墙，以保护帝国免受游牧的日耳曼部落的侵袭。

　　For what worried the Romans most was that, instead of staying quietly on their farmsteads, cultivating the land,

　　因为这最让罗马人感到心神不安：日耳曼人不安安静静地呆在自己的家园并耕种土地

　　the tribes were always on the move looking for new hunting grounds or new pastures.

　　他们一再地想要更换他们的狩猎地和耕田，

　　They simply loaded their wives and children onto ox-carts and set off in search of somewhere else to live.

　　他们把妇女和孩子装上牛车，外出寻找另一个居民地。

　　This meant that the Romans had to keep troops permanently² stationed at the frontiers to defend the empire.

　　所以罗马人不得不在边境经常驻扎军队，以保护帝国的安全。

　　Along the Rhine and the Danube there were soldiers from every country under the sun.

　　各地军队驻守在莱茵河畔和多瑙河畔

　　Near Vienna there was an encampment of Egyptians, who even built themselves a temple beside the Danube which they dedicated³ to their goddess Isis.

　　埃及的军队驻守在维也纳附近并且也在那里的多瑙河畔建造了一个埃及女神伊西斯的圣地。这就是今天的伊勃斯城，

　　On that spot there is a town today called Ybbs, and Isis lives on in that name.

　　而伊西斯则因这个城市的名字而继续留在人们的记忆中。

1 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。