本篇文章共分 7 個段落，分別介紹古羅馬時代戰艦與商船的外型、製造、運作目的、操作方式等，拓增讀者對歷史的認識。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

Roman shipbuilding and navigation 羅馬的造船與航海

1. 古代造船藝術性高

   Shipbuilding today is based on science and ships are built using computers and sophisticated tools. Shipbuilding in ancient Rome, however, was more of an art relying on estimation, inherited techniques and personal experience. The Romans were not traditionally sailors but mostly land-based people, who learned to build ships from the people that they conquered, namely the Greeks and the Egyptians.

   今天的造船業以科學為基礎，船舶的建造使用電腦和複雜的工具。然而，在古羅馬，造船更像是一門藝術，依靠的是估計、繼承的技術和個人經驗。羅馬人並不是傳統意義上的水手，而大多是陸地上的人，他們從他們所征服的人，即希臘人和埃及人那裡學習造船。

2. 造船方式的演化

   There are a few surviving written documents that give descriptions and representations of ancient Roman ships, including the sails and rigging. Excavated vessels also provide some clues about ancient shipbuilding techniques. Studies of these have taught us that ancient Roman shipbuilders built the outer hull first, then proceeded with the frame and the rest of the ship. Planks used to build the outer hull were initially sewn together. Starting from the 6th century BCE, they were fixed using a method called mortise and tenon, whereby one plank locked into another without the need for stitching. Then in the first centuries of the current era, Mediterranean shipbuilders shifted to another shipbuilding method, still in use today, which consisted of building the frame first and then proceeding with the hull and the other components of the ship. This method was more systematic and dramatically shortened ship construction times. The ancient Romans built large merchant ships and warships whose size and technology were unequalled until the 16th century CE.

   有一些現存的書面文件對古羅馬船隻進行了描述和表述，包括船帆和索具。出土的船隻也提供了一些關於古代造船技術的線索。對這些的研究告訴我們，古羅馬的造船者首先建造外船體，然後再進行船架和船的其他部分。用來建造外船體的木板最初是縫在一起的。從西元前 6 世紀開始，他們用一種叫做榫頭的方法來固定，即一塊木板與另一塊木板鎖在一起，不需要縫合。然後在現今時代的頭幾個世紀，地中海造船者轉向另一種造船方法，至今仍在使用，即先建造框架，然後再進行船體和船的其他部件。這種方法更加系統化，大幅縮短了船舶建造時間。古羅馬人建造的大型商船和戰艦，其規模和技術直到西元 16 世紀都是無可匹敵的。

3. 戰艦特色

   Warships were built to be lightweight and very speedy. They had to be able to sail near the coast which is why they had no ballast or excess load and were built with a long, narrow hull. They did not sink when damaged and often would lie crippled on the sea’s surface following naval battles. They had a bronze battering ram, which was used to pierce the timber hulls or break the oars of enemy vessels. Warships used both wind (sails) and human power (oarsmen) and were therefore very fast. Eventually, Rome’s navy became the largest and most powerful in the Mediterranean, and the Romans had control over what they therefore called Mare Nostrum meaning ‘our sea’.

   戰艦建造的目標是要很輕，速度很快。它們必須能夠在海岸附近航行，這就是為什麼它們沒有壓艙物或多餘的負載，並且採用長而窄的船體。它們在受損時不會沉沒，而且在海戰後經常會癱瘓在海面上。它們有一個青銅撞錘，用來刺穿木制船體或打破敵方船隻的船槳。戰船同時使用風（帆）和人力（槳手），因此速度非常快。最終，羅馬的海軍成為地中海地區規模最大同時武力也最強大的海軍，羅馬人也因此控制了他們稱之為 Mare Nostrum 的地方，意思是「我們的海」。

4. 戰艦划船手

   There were many kinds of warship. The ‘trireme’ was the dominant warship from the 7th to 4th century BCE. It had rowers in the top, middle and lower levels, and approximately 50 rowers in each bank. The rowers at the bottom had the most uncomfortable position as they were under the other rowers and were exposed to the water entering through the oar-holes. It is worth noting that contrary to popular perception, rowers were not slaves but mostly Roman citizens enrolled in the military. The trireme was superseded by larger ships with even more rowers.

   戰艦有許多種。「三角帆船」是西元前 7 世紀至 4 世紀的主要戰艦。它的頂層、中層和底層都有划船手，每層大約有 50 名划船手。底層划船手的位置最不舒服，因為他們在其他划船手的下面，並暴露在從槳孔進入的水裡。值得注意的是，與一般人的看法相反，划船手不是奴隸，而大多是羅馬公民，他們入伍從軍。三角帆船後來被擁有更多划船手的大船所取代。

5. 商船特色

   Merchant ships were built to transport lots of cargo over long distances and at a reasonable cost. They had a wider hull, double planking and a solid interior for added stability. Unlike warships, their V-shaped hull was deep underwater, meaning that they could not sail too close to the coast. They usually had two huge side rudders located off the stern and controlled by a small tiller bar connected to a system of cables. They had from one to three masts with large square sails and a small triangular sail at the bow. Just like warships, merchant ships used oarsmen, but coordinating the hundreds of rowers in both types of ship was not an easy task. In order to assist them, music would be played on an instrument, and oars would then keep time with this.

   商船的建造是為了以合理的成本遠距離運輸大量貨物。它們有一個更寬的船體，雙層木板和堅實的內部，以增加穩定性。與軍艦不同的是，它們的Ｖ形船體深入水下，這意味著它們不能離海岸太近。它們通常有兩個巨大的側舵，位於船尾，由一個連接到纜繩系統的小舵杆控制。它們有一到三根桅杆，有大的方帆和船頭的小三角帆。就像軍艦一樣，商船也使用槳手，但協調這兩種船隻的數百名划船手並不是一件容易的事。為了協助他們，會用一種樂器演奏音樂，然後船槳會與之保持同步。

6. 運送之商品與地區

   The cargo on merchant ships included raw materials (e.g. iron bars, copper, marble and granite), and agricultural products (e.g. grain from Egypt’s Nile valley). During the Empire, Rome was a huge city by ancient standards of about one million inhabitants. Goods from all over the world would come to the city through the port of Pozzuoli situated west of the bay of Naples in Italy and through the gigantic port of Ostia situated at the mouth of the Tiber River. Large merchant ships would approach the destination port and, just like today, be intercepted by a number of towboats that would drag them to the quay.

   商船上的貨物包括原材料（如鐵條、銅、大理石和花崗岩），以及農產品（如來自埃及尼羅河流域的穀物）。在帝國時期，按照古代的標準，羅馬是一個擁有約 100 萬居民的巨大城市。來自世界各地的貨物通過位於義大利那不勒斯灣以西的波佐利港和位於台伯河口的巨大的奧斯提亞港進入該城。大型商船接近目的港時，就像今天一樣，會被一些拖船攔截，拖到碼頭上。

7. 導航方式

   The time of travel along the many sailing routes could vary widely. Navigation in ancient Rome did not rely on sophisticated instruments such as compasses but on experience, local knowledge and observation of natural phenomena. In conditions of good visibility, seamen in the Mediterranean often had the mainland or islands in sight, which greatly facilitated navigation. They sailed by noting their position relative to a succession of recognisable landmarks. When weather conditions were not good or where land was no longer visible, Roman mariners estimated directions from the pole star or, with less accuracy, from the Sun at noon. They also estimated directions relative to the wind and swell. Overall, shipping in ancient Roman times resembled shipping today with large vessels regularly crossing the seas and bringing supplies from their Empire.

   在眾多的航海路線上，旅行的時間可能相差很大。古羅馬的航海並不依賴羅盤等精密儀器，而是依靠經驗、當地知識和對自然現象的觀察。在能見度高的情況下，地中海的海員們經常能看到大陸或島嶼，這對航海有相當大的助益。他們通過記下自己與一系列可識別的地標的相對位置來航行。當天氣條件不好或不再能看到陸地時，羅馬水手就從北極星上估計方向，或者在不太準確的情況下，從正午的太陽上估計方向。他們還根據風向和海浪來估計方向。總而言之，古羅馬時代的航運類似於今天的航運，大型船隻定期穿越海洋，從帝國各地帶來補給。