ta." -- "15)hail caesar. those who are about to die salute you!" and the thumbs down sign to the defeated. but apart from the hunts and the mortal combats of the gladiators, the amphitheatre also witnessed the tearing apart of the bodies of countless christian 16)martyrs.

the coliseum was used for shows until 608 ad. in the middle ages it served as a 17)fortress, and 18)successively as a stone quarry for many buildings. the many holes visible are also marks of 19)vandalism. they were made in order to 20)extract the 21)metallic 22)bonds, which joined the blocks of 23)travertine together. it was only at the beginning of the nineteenth century that the 24)pillage was ended and some work of 25)restoration was initiated by the 26)popes. the external circle, entirely in travertine, is almost 50 meters high and includes four floors, each carrying arches springing from 27)pilasters. the eighty arcades of the entrance are numbered with roman numerals. the number corresponded to the serial number of the season tickets held by spectators.

罗马圆形大剧场

罗马是繁荣历史的一个伟大见证，是艺术杰作的聚集地，它展现出了最完整的、无可匹敌的人类成就。罗马的瑰宝散发着永恒的大家气质，使它在全世界的众多城市中显得无与伦比。它壮丽雄伟的古代建筑与今天丰富的现代都市生活方式融合在一起，是形态与色彩、过去与现在、神圣与安全的和谐共存。

宏伟的弗拉维圆形大剧场，也称竞技场，是罗马永恒的象征，也是罗马帝国时期最伟大的纪念碑。由韦斯巴西安皇帝在公元72年开始建立，但是由他的儿子提图斯在八年后完成的。根据传统，用了四万名奴隶来修建圆形大剧场。庞大的剧场能容纳下大约五万名观众，瓦莱里安皇帝在中央支起的帆布天花篷恰到好处地起了遮阳的作用。剧场是用来做角斗表演和猎捕野兽的。通常剧场会按真实场景布置，以使残忍的表演更逼真，以唤起众多观众在观看时的激情，唤醒他们嗜血寻乐的性情。在进行角斗前要先行仪式向皇帝致敬。（意大利语）“恺撒万岁。臣子以死亡向您致敬！” 战败的人得到拇指朝下的手势。大剧场除了用做捕猎和角斗士之间格杀之外，也见证了无数基督殉难徒遭分尸的惨剧。

竞技场的演出用途到了公元608年才告结束。它在中世纪成为要塞，既而成为许多建筑的采石场。剧场肉眼可辨的孔眼是蓄意被破坏所为。凿孔为的是要拔出连接石块的金属镣铐。直到19世纪初期，破坏才被停止下来，教皇下令进行修整回复的工作。剧场的外圈完全是由石灰华建成的，高度将近有50米，分成四层，每层的壁柱间以拱门相连。八十道入口的拱门以罗马数字标出。该数字与观众手中所持的当季门票上的序列号是一致的。

注释:

1) witness n. 目击者，证人

2) artistic a. 艺术的

3) unmatchable a. 不能匹敌的

4) imposing a. 壮丽的

5) integrate into 使并入

6) metropolitan a. 主要都市的

7) symbiosis n. 共生现象

8) sacred a. 神圣的，庄严的

9) amphitheatre n. 圆形露天剧场

10) vespasian韦斯巴西安，古罗马皇帝（69-79），弗拉维王朝创立者。

11) spectator n. 观众

12) valerian即瓦莱里安（?-260），罗马皇帝。

13) multitude n. 多数

14) ritual a. 宗教仪式的

15) hail int. 万岁

16) martyr n. 殉难者

17) fortress n. 堡垒，要塞

18) successively adv. 接连着，继续地

19) vandalism n. 蓄意破坏艺术的行为

20) extract v. 拔出，榨取

21) metallic a. 金属的

22) bond n. 镣铐

23) travertine n. （矿）石灰华

24) pillage n. 掠夺

25) restoration n. 重建

26) pope n. 罗马教皇

27) pilaster n. 壁柱

★★《2003年03月号-第39期-disc01-11》★★

a century of memories (1910-1919)

roosevelt's design included linking the pacific and atlantic oceans by building a canal through the 1)isthmus of panama in northern columbia, construction of the era's 2)engineering wonder began in 1904. alfred bingham visited the canal site as a child.

"i can remember riding along in this car on the bottom of the canal, a lot of big machinery and a lot of trains going up and down taking the 3)diggings out. and there were marvelous big structures that were to be the locks."

"the building of the canal itself was the greatest engineering feat that had ever been done up to that time. it's all of the great power and technology and energy of this age 4)harnessed there."

across the atlantic in a belfast 5)shipyard, another technological 6)marvel of the age was being completed -- the largest moving object ever made by man. the titanic was said to be the fastest, most 7)luxurious and safest ocean liner the world had ever seen. on april 10, 1912, with more than 2,200 people on board, the ship left southampton in england on its maiden voyage.

"my mother wanted to see the 8)purser before we went to our 9)cabin. mother said to the purser, 'i am not one bit happy about going on the titanic to new york city.' and the purser said, 'why?' she said, 'because the titanic is new, it's never crossed an ocean,' and she said, 'i'm afraid something might happen.' and he said, 'madam, nothing was going to happen, but if it does,' he said, 'the titanic has 10)watertight 11)compartments that'll keep it up.'"

on its fifth day at sea, the titanic received a series of radio warnings about icebergs ahead. the captain, edward smith, under pressure to make record time from his employer, the white star lines, ignored the messages and 12)proceeded at full speed. shortly before midnight, ruth vecker and her mother were awakened by a cabin 13)steward.

"he said, 'the titanic has struck an iceberg,' and he said, 'i want you to go back in your room, get your family ready and go on up to the boat deck and get in the lifeboats.' and mother says, 'do we have time to dress?' and he says, 'no, madam, you have time for nothing.'"

the ship sank within 3 hours. in an era that had put such faith in technology, the titanic would become a 14)stark 15)reminder of man's limitations.

in mid-august of 1914, americans celebrated the opening of the panama canal, a triumph of both technology and man's will over nature. an engineering feat as impressive as the pyramids, the canal woul