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captured, caught; made prisoner. procession, train of people marching.
conduct, bearing; behaviour. reminded, put in mind.
conqueror, victor. reserved, kept.
defended, guarded. splendid, very fine.
prepared, made ready.
1. When the Roman soldiers returned to Britain ninety-seven years after Caesar's time, they were opposed by a brave chieftain whom they called Caractacus. They defeated him and killed his brother in the Essex marshes;but he fled to the mountains of Wales, and prepared to fight to the last for his country.
2. The place he chose was very strong, being surrounded with high rocky hills, and defended in front by a deep, swift river. Wherever there was passage through which the enemy might get, he blocked it up with heavy stones. When the flashing of yellow light far down the glen showed that the Roman soldiers were coming to battle, Caractacus made a speech to the clans that had gathered around him, and reminded them how their forefathers had driven Caesar away.
3. But what could the poor Britons do? In spite of all the heaps of stones, the Romans forced their way into the camp; and the soft copper swords of the Britons and their little shields of basket-work were bent or hewed to pieces by the hard, sharp, steel weapons of the attacking force.
4. When he saw that the blood of the Britons was flowing like water, and that the hollows among the rocks were filled with heaps of dead, Caractacus fled, until he came to the house of his stepmother, from whom he begged a lodging and some food. Pretending to be friendly, she gave him these; but she took the earliest chance of binding his limbs with cords and giving him up to the Romans.
5. It was the custom of the Romans, when they captured any great warrior, to lead him before the chariot of his conqueror through the streets of Rome,which were adorned with flowers, and filled with people in holiday dress. The procession was called a Triumph; and when it reached the slope of a certain hill, the captive was led aside and killed.
6. For such a fate was the noble Caractacus reserved. Carried to Rome in chains, he was forced to walk through the shouting crowds; and, as he walked and looked around him with brave blue eyes undimmed by suf ering,he was heard to say with a wondering smile, “How can people who have such splendid houses here envy me a little cottage made of wood in Britain!” When he was brought before the Emperor Claudius, who, dressed in gold and purple, sat on a throne, his conduct was so noble, and his calm and honest words made the monarch so much ashamed, that he at once gave the brave man his freedom.
中文阅读
1. 恺撒离去97年之后，罗马军队又一次踏上了不列颠的土地。这次他们面对的是一位勇敢的部落首领，叫卡拉克塔库斯。罗马军队在埃塞克斯的沼泽地里杀死了卡拉克塔库斯的一位兄弟，但是他自己逃了出来，躲进威尔士的山地，准备东山再起，为他的国家战斗到底。
2. 他选择的根据地极为险峻，四周被陡峭的高山环绕，前方还有一条渊深湍急的河流作为天然防御。只要是敌人能够通过的路径，他都用大石头堵得死死的。当远处战甲金光闪烁，映入峡谷，那就意味着罗马的大军又来了。公元50年，卡拉克塔库斯就是在这样的局面下给整个部落做了一场演讲，大家聚拢在他周围听他慷慨陈词，他在演讲中提醒他的宗族同胞，先民们是如何把恺撒赶出不列颠的。
3. 但是这些可怜的不列颠人又能做什么呢？尽管乱石成堆，罗马人最终还是攻入了这个堡垒，不列颠人脆弱的铜剑和用藤条编制的盾牌，在罗马人制作精良的、锋利的不锈钢武器面前根本不堪一击。
4. 当卡拉克塔库斯看见不列颠人血流成河、尸骨满山的时候，知道大势已去，便一溜烟跑了。他藏到了他继母的家中，并向她乞求一个安身之处及一些果腹之粮。他的继母假装很友好地满足了这些要求，但趁他不注意的时候，一下把他用绳索捆绑了起来，然后交给了罗马人。
5. 罗马人有个习俗，就是每当他们俘虏一个敌方大将时，会让他走在抓获他的军队的战车前面，在罗马城里游街示众。这辆战车用鲜花装点，并且载满穿着节日盛装的罗马人。罗马人把这样的队伍叫做“凯旋之军”。当整个队伍行进到一座山的斜坡时，俘虏就会被拉到一边，就地正法。
6. 这就是高贵的卡拉克塔库斯将要面对的命运。公元51年，他被用铁链捆绑押送到了罗马，在游街时被迫走过喧嚣的人群。他在行进中向周围看了一眼，这双英勇的蓝色双眸没有一丝畏惧与苦楚，然后他慷慨大义地发话了：“这里的人们住着如此富丽堂皇的房子，可为什么要欺凌我这样一个在不列颠岛上住小木屋的人！”最后他被带到了罗马皇帝克劳狄面前，克劳狄皇帝穿着金紫相间的皇袍，端坐在宝座上。卡拉克塔库斯毫无惧色，应答如流，他平静、高贵而坦诚的表现深深打动了克劳狄皇帝，于是克劳狄立即赦免了他，让这位勇士重新获得了自由。