世界小史 第174期:基督徒

 　　If you weren't a Christian¹, a Jew or a close relative of the emperor, life in the Roman empire could be peaceful and pleasant.

　　谁不是基督徒，不是犹太人或不是皇帝的近亲，谁就能在当时的罗马帝国过上很安逸很舒适的生活。

　　You could travel from Spain to the Euphrates, from the Danube to the Nile on wonderful Roman roads.

　　人们在修得极好的罗马道路上从西班牙到幼发拉底河，从多瑙河到尼罗河旅行。

　　The Roman postal² service made regular visits to settlements at the empire's frontiers, carrying news back and forth³.

　　罗马的国家邮车定期驶往帝国边疆各个固定的地点，送达并取走信息。

　　In all the great cities like Alexandria or Rome you could find everything you needed for a comfortable life.

　　在各大城市里，在亚历山大或罗马有种种舒适的生活设备。

　　Of course, in Rome there were whole districts of barrack-like buildings, crudely built and many storeys high, where poor people lived.

　　在罗马城里有大的城区，穷人们居住在那里的高的、多层的简易出租房里。

　　The private houses and villas⁴ of the well-to-do, in contrast, were luxuriously⁵ furnished with beautiful Greek works of art,

　　而罗马的私人房屋和别墅则配备有最美的希腊艺术品和豪华家具,

　　and had delightful⁶ small gardens with cooling fountains.

　　并且拥有迷人的花园，园中有清凉的喷水池。

　　In winter months, rooms were warmed by a form of central heating in which hot air circulated through hollow bricks under the floor.

　　在冬天人们能用一种集中供暖法给各房间供暖：人们让变得强大的空气流从地板下面的空心砖吹拂过去。

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

5 luxuriously   

adv.奢侈地，豪华地

参考例句：

• She put her nose luxuriously buried in heliotrope and tea roses. 她把自己的鼻子惬意地埋在天芥菜和庚申蔷薇花簇中。 来自辞典例句
• To be well dressed doesn't mean to be luxuriously dressed. 穿得好不一定衣着豪华。 来自辞典例句

6 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。