BBC英国史

Bath was not the only place where Romano-Britons could wallow in the well-being of the province.

巴斯并非唯一罗马-不列颠紧密融合之地

In Dover,the Romans built this 96-bedroom hotel,

在多佛 罗马人修建了座有九十六间卧室的宾馆

now 20 feet below street level but the last word in luxury for any VIP disembarking from Gaul.

这间深埋地下二十英尺却极尽奢华房间 供以来自高卢的贵宾居住

By the fourth century, however, Rome was in deep trouble,

但在公元四世纪时 罗马深陷泥沼

attacked by barbarians and undermined by political turmoil.

蛮族入侵与国内阴谋策反内外受敌

Britannia couldn't remain detached from the fate of the rest of the empire forever.

不列颠尼亚迟早也难免于 与帝国一样受敌的命运

At some point, Dover's significance for Britannia changed from a port of entry to a defensive stronghold.

某种意义上 多佛之于不列颠尼亚 已不再是入港口 而成为了御敌大本营

The "Welcome" mat gave way to the "Keep Out" sign,

从敞开迎宾的大门成为了抵御外敌的城墙

in the shape of massive walls, built through the Grand Hotel's lobby.

由巨石堆砌而成 横穿宾馆大厅而建

This is the sort of wall the Romans built at Dover.

这便是罗马人在多佛所筑的城墙

This is Portchester, a Roman shore fort,a truly colossal structure that makes all too clear

这是切斯特港 罗马海滨堡垒 这庞然巨物使得罗马人对

the scale of threat the Romans felt the barbarians posed.

蛮族入侵的惧怕 不言自明

Inside it lies a Norman castle, built 1,000 years later and now completely dwarfed by it.

内部构造与一千年后的诺曼第城堡相似 而与外城相比 却如此矮小

It was one of several forts strung out along the south and east coasts.

这是并肩严守着东南海岸的堡垒之一

But not even fortifications like those of Portchester or Hadrian's Wall in the north,

但即使像切斯特港这样的防御工事 或北部横亘的哈德良长城

could work without adequate troops.

若无与之匹配的军队 都难以发挥作用

As more and more legionaries were sucked back to fight on the continent,

由于大批罗马兵团被召回欧洲大陆作战

and as Picts and Saxons, spotting weakness,started their own raids from the north and east,

而皮克特人与撒克逊人趁其羸弱之时 开始分别从东北方向刺探敌情

Britannia couldn't help but feel the chill of vulnerability.

不列颠尼亚自知危若累卵

词汇解析

1、defensive

防御（性）的;防卫（用）的;保护的

The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.

政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

The union leaders were pushed into a more defensive position by the return of a Republican Congress in November.

由于 11 月份共和党重新控制了国会，工会领导人被推到更加被动防守的位置。

（表现在行为上）防御的，戒备的，卫护的

Like their children, parents are often defensive about their private lives.

就像子女一样，父母也常常很注重保护他们的私生活。

She heard the blustering, defensive note in his voice and knew that he was ashamed.

她听出他话音里的气势汹汹和自我卫护，知道他感到了羞愧。

处于防御姿态;处于守势

Accusations are likely to put the other person on the defensive.

谴责很可能会引发对方自我防卫的反应。

He smiled, not wanting to put the man on the defensive.

他笑了笑，不想让那个人产生抵触情绪。

2、structure

结构;构造;组织

The typical family structure of Freud's patients involved two parents and two children.

弗洛伊德的病人的典型家庭结构是父母二人和两个孩子。

The chemical structure of this particular molecule is very unusual.

这个特殊分子的化学结构很不寻常。

建筑物

About half of those funds has gone to repair public roads, structures and bridges.

那些基金中大约有一半已被用来维修公路、公共建筑物和桥梁。

The house was a handsome four-story brick structure.

这所房子是一幢造型美观的四层砖砌建筑物。