世界小史 第173期:维斯佩申

 　　They fought with extraordinary determination and courage against the legions who were forced to lay siege to each Jewish town in turn to defeat them.

　　他们以坚韧不拔的毅力和极大的勇气与罗马军团作战，这些军团不得不长期围困并攻击一座犹太人城市，才能将其占领。

　　Jerusalem itself was reduced to famine during two long years of siege by Titus, son of the ruling Roman emperor, Vespasian.

　　耶路撒冷被当时的罗马皇帝维斯佩申的儿子提图斯围困和断粮了两年之久。

　　Those who fled were caught and crucified by the Romans outside the city.

　　谁逃跑，谁就被罗马人在城前钉在十字架上。

　　When the Romans finally succeeded in forcing their way into the city in AD 70,

　　罗马人最后终于攻陷这座城市，那是在公元70年。

　　Titus is said to have commanded that the sanctuary¹ of the One God be spared, but the soldiers sacked and looted the temple all the same.

　　据说提图斯曾下令保护惟一的神的圣地，但是神庙遭到士兵们的焚烧和掠夺。

　　The sacred vessels² were carried home in triumph to Rome,

　　在罗马凯旋的队伍中展示的各种圣器，

　　as we can see today from the pictures carved on the arch which Titus erected³ in Rome to commemorate⁴ his triumph.

　　人们今天还可以在提图斯当初在罗马建立的凯旋门上看到它们的图像。

　　Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews scattered⁵ to the four winds.

　　耶路撒冷被毁坏，犹太人被驱散到世界各地。

　　Long established as traders in many cities, the Jews had now lost their homeland.

　　他们在先前已经定居在许多城市从事经商活动。这时，他们成了一个无家可归的民族，

　　From now on they huddled⁶ together in their prayer schools, in cities like Alexandria and Rome and other foreign towns.

　　他们在亚历山大、罗马和别的陌生城市的礼拜堂里聚会。

1 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

2 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

4 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。