本篇文章共分 5 個段落，分別介紹古羅馬時代從波斯人繼承而來的暗渠以及自行發展的反挖法兩種主要的隧道興建方法，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 Tunnels 羅馬隧道

1. 波斯人暗渠建造法

   The Romans, who once controlled areas of Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, adopted the construction techniques of other civilizations to build tunnels in their territories

   The Persians, who lived in present-day Iran, were one of the first civilizations to build tunnels that provided a reliable supply of water to human settlements in dry areas. In the early first millennium BCE, they introduced the qanat method of tunnel construction, which consisted of placing posts over a hill in a straight line, to ensure that the tunnel kept to its route, and then digging vertical shafts down into the ground at regular intervals. Underground, workers removed the earth from between the ends of the shafts, creating a tunnel. The excavated soil was taken up to the surface using the shafts, which also provided ventilation during the work. Once the tunnel was completed, it allowed water to flow from the top of a hillside down towards a canal, which supplied water for human use. Remarkably, some qanats built by the Persians 2,700 years ago are still in use today.

   曾經控制歐洲、北非和小亞細亞地區的羅馬人，採用了其他文明的建築技術，在他們的領土上建造隧道

   居住在今天伊朗的波斯人是最早建造隧道的文明之一，他們為乾旱地區的人類村落提供了可靠的水供給。在西元前一千年的初期，他們引入了暗渠方法建造隧道，其中包括在山丘上以直線方式放置柱子，以確保隧道保持其路線，然後以固定的間隔向地面挖掘垂直豎井。在地底下，工人們從豎井的兩端清除泥土，形成一條隧道。挖掘出的土壤通過豎井被運到地面，而豎井在工作中也提供了通風。隧道建成後，它使水從山坡頂部流向一個運河，為人類提供用水。值得注意的是，2,700 年前由波斯人建造的一些暗渠至今仍在使用。

2. 羅馬人暗渠建造法

   They later passed on their knowledge to the Romans, who also used the qanat method to construct water-supply tunnels for agriculture. Roman qanat tunnels were constructed with vertical shafts dug at intervals of between 30 and 60 meters. The shafts were equipped with handholds and footholds to help those climbing in and out of them and were covered with a wooden or stone lid. To ensure that the shafts were vertical, Romans hung a plumb line from a rod placed across the top of each shaft and made sure that the weight at the end of it hung in the center of the shaft. Plumb lines were also used to measure the depth of the shaft and to determine the slope of the tunnel. The 5.6-kilometer-long Claudius tunnel, built in 41 CE to drain the Fucine Lake in central Italy, had shafts that were up to 122 meters deep, took 11 years to build and involved approximately 30,000 workers.

   他們後來把他們的知識傳給了羅馬人，羅馬人也用暗渠法建造農業供水隧道。羅馬人的暗渠隧道是用垂直豎井建造的，每隔 30 到 60 米就挖一個豎井。豎井配備有扶手和腳踏板，以幫助人們爬進和爬出豎井，並以木頭或石頭蓋子覆蓋。為了確保豎井是垂直的，羅馬人將一根鉛垂線掛在橫跨每個豎井頂部的桿子上，並確保其末端的重量掛在豎井的中心。鉛垂線也被用來測量豎井的深度和確定隧道的坡度。Claudius 隧道長 5.6 公里，建於西元 41 年，用於疏通義大利中部的 Fucine 湖，其豎井深達 122 米，花了 11 年時間建造，大約有 3 萬名工人參與。

3. 羅馬人反挖法

   By the 6th century BCE, a second method of tunnel construction appeared called the counter-excavation method, in which the tunnel was constructed from both ends. It was used to cut through high mountains when the qanat method was not a practical alternative. This method required greater planning and advanced knowledge of surveying, mathematics and geometry as both ends of a tunnel had to meet correctly at the center of the mountain. Adjustments to the direction of the tunnel also had to be made whenever builders encountered geological problems or when it deviated from its set path. They constantly checked the tunnel’s advancing direction, for example, by looking back at the light that penetrated through the tunnel mouth, and made corrections whenever necessary. Large deviations could happen, and they could result in one end of the tunnel not being usable. An inscription written on the side of a 428-meter tunnel, built by the Romans as part of the Saldae aqueduct system in modern-day Algeria, describes how the two teams of builders missed each other in the mountain and how the later construction of a lateral link between both corridors corrected the initial error.

   到了西元前 6 世紀，出現了第二種建造隧道的方法，稱為反挖法，即從兩端建造隧道。在暗渠法不可行的情況下，它被用來開鑿高山。這種方法需要更多的規劃和先進的測量、數學和幾何知識，因為隧道的兩端必須在山的中心正確相遇。每當建造者遇到地質問題或偏離既定路線時，也必須對隧道的方向進行調整。他們不斷檢查隧道的前進方向，例如，通過回頭看穿透隧道口的光線，並在必要時進行修正。大規模的偏差可能發生，因而可能導致隧道的一端無法使用。在羅馬人建造的一條 428 米長，作為今日阿爾及利亞薩爾代水渠系統一部分的隧道邊上寫著一個碑文，碑文描述了兩支建造隊伍是如何在山中互相錯過的，以及後來在兩條走廊之間建造的橫向連接如何糾正了最初的錯誤。

4. 反挖法的應用

   The Romans dug tunnels for their roads using the counter-excavation method, whenever they encountered obstacles such as hills or mountains that were too high for roads to pass over. An example is the 37-meter-long, 6-meter-high, Furlo Pass Tunnel built in Italy in 69-79 CE. Remarkably, a modern road still uses this tunnel today. Tunnels were also built for mineral extraction. Miners would locate a mineral vein and then pursue it with shafts and tunnels underground. Traces of such tunnels used to mine gold can still be found at the Dolaucothi mines in Wales. When the sole purpose of a tunnel was mineral extraction, construction required less planning, as the tunnel route was determined by the mineral vein.

   羅馬人每當遇到山丘或山脈等障礙物，而這些障礙物又太高，道路無法通過時，就會採用反挖法為道路挖掘隧道。一個例子是西元 69-79 年在義大利建造的 37 米長、6米高的 Furlo 關隘隧道。值得注意的是，今天仍有一條現代公路使用這條隧道。隧道的建造也是為了開採礦物。礦工們會找到一個礦脈，然後在地下用豎井和隧道進行開採。在威爾斯的 Dolaucothi 礦區仍然可以找到這種用於開採黃金的隧道的痕跡。當隧道的唯一目的是開採礦物時，建設需要較少的規劃，因為隧道路線是由礦脈決定的。

5. 反挖法工期與技術改良

   Roman tunnel projects were carefully planned and carried out. The length of time it took to construct a tunnel depended on the method being used and the type of rock being excavated. The qanat construction method was usually faster than the counter-excavation method as it was more straightforward. This was because the mountain could be excavated not only from the tunnel mouths but also from shafts. The type of rock could also influence construction times. When the rock was hard, the Romans employed a technique called fire quenching which consisted of heating the rock with fire, and then suddenly cooling it with cold water so that it would crack. Progress through hard rock could be very slow, and it was not uncommon for tunnels to take years, if not decades, to be built. Construction marks left on a Roman tunnel in Bologna show that the rate of advance through solid rock was 30 centimeters per day. In contrast, the rate of advance of the Claudius tunnel can be calculated at 1.4 meters per day. Most tunnels had inscriptions showing the names of patrons who ordered construction and sometimes the name of the architect. For example, the 1.4-kilometer Çevlik tunnel in Turkey, built to divert the floodwater threatening the harbor of the ancient city of Seleuceia Pieria, had inscriptions on the entrance, still visible today, that also indicate that the tunnel was started in 69 CE and was completed in 81 CE.

   羅馬人的隧道工程是經過精心計畫和實施的。建造一條隧道所需的時間取決於所使用的方法和所挖掘的岩石的類型。暗渠施工方法通常比反挖法快，因為它更直接。這是因為山體不僅可以從隧道口開挖，也可以從豎井開挖。岩石的類型也會影響施工時間。當岩石堅硬時，羅馬人採用了一種叫做火淬的技術，包括用火加熱岩石，然後用冷水突然冷卻，使其開裂。穿過堅硬的岩石，進展可能非常緩慢，隧道需要幾年甚至幾十年才能建成，這並不罕見。在博洛尼亞的一條羅馬隧道上留下的施工痕跡顯示，在堅硬的岩石中前進的速度是每天 30 釐米。相比之下，克勞迪烏斯隧道的推進速度可以計算得知為每天 1.4 米。大多數隧道都有銘文，顯示下令建造的贊助人姓名，有時還有建築師的名字。例如，位於土耳其 1.4 公里長的 Çevlik 隧道，是為了疏導威脅古城Seleuceia Pieria 港口的洪水而修建的，其入口處的銘文至今仍可見，也表示該隧道於西元 69 年開始修建，於西元 81 年完工。