In Rome, Nero fiddled, Mark Antony praised Caesar, and Charlemagne was crowned. Today, you can walk in their footsteps past the masterpieces of Michelangelo, sip your cafe in the shadow of Mussolini, and dodge Vespas speeding by baroque palazzi and Egyptian obelisks. The ages of history live on in this Eternal City.

However you arrive in Rome, you can tell by the traffic that you are entering a grand nexus: all roads lead to Rome. As you enter the city proper, edifices, icons, and images to match your expectations take shape: a bridge with heroic statues along its parapets; a towering cake of ornate marble decorated with allegorical figures in extravagant poses; a piazza and an obelisk under an umbrella of pine trees; a massive stone arena, even bigger than you imagined, that you realize with awe is the fabled Colosseum.

More than Florence, more than Venice, Rome is Italy's treasure trove, packed with masterpieces from more than two millennia of artistic achievement -- for this is where Republican Rome once bustled around the buildings of the Roman Forum, centuries later Michelangelo Buonarroti painted the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, and in modern times, Federico Fellini filmed La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 at the Cinecitta Studios.

Today, Rome's formidable legacy is upheld by its people. Students walk dogs in the park that was once the mausoleum of the family of the Emperor Augustus; Raphaelesque madonnas line up for buses on busy corners; a priest in flowing robes walks through a medieval piazza talking on a cell phone. Modern Rome has one foot in the past, one in the present - a delightful stance that allows you to have an espresso in a square designed by Bernini, then take the metro back to your hotel room in a renovated Renaissance palace.

在罗马，暴君尼禄曾在这里拉小提琴，马克.安东尼曾在这里歌颂凯撒大帝，查理曼曾在这里加冕。今天你可以沿着他们的足迹，从米开朗琪罗的杰作旁徐行而过，在墨索里尼的阴影下品尝咖啡，闪身躲过从巴洛克式宫殿和埃及方尖塔旁飞驰而过的摩托车。历史的岁月都留存在这座永恒之城中。

不论你怎样进入罗马城，你都会发觉自己正通往一个巨大的交通枢纽，真所谓“条条道路通罗马”。进入市区，你期望中的高大建筑、雕像和画像就出现在面前：桥梁的低矮挡墙上排列着历史英雄人物的塑像；高大而华丽的大理石块上雕刻着千姿百态的寓言故事主人公；广场和方尖塔荫庇在松树林之下；巨大的石砌圆形剧场比想象中的更大，你怀着敬畏的心情发现这就是传说中著名的古罗马角斗场。

罗马是意大利的宝库，它胜过佛罗伦萨，也胜过威尼斯。这里到处都是两千多年来艺术成就的杰作——罗马共和国曾在这古罗马市集里忙碌；几个世纪以后，米开朗基罗.博纳罗蒂在西斯廷教堂天花板上绘画；在现代，费德里科.费里尼在电影城摄影棚里拍摄了《甜蜜的生活》和《八又二分之一》。

今天，罗马人民维护着那些令人觉得不可思议的罗马历史遗产。学生们在曾是奥古斯都皇帝家庭陵园的公园里遛狗；拉斐尔风格的圣母像矗立在繁华市区的角落，仿佛在那儿排队等公共汽车；身着飘逸长袍的牧师打着手机穿过中世纪的广场。现代的罗马，一只脚踩在过去，另一只脚踏在了现代——这种令人愉快的姿态让你能在贝尼尼设计的广场商品味香浓的咖啡，然后乘地铁回到由文艺复兴时期的宫殿翻修而成的旅馆房间。

masterpiece n. 杰作

statue n. 雕像

millennium n. 一千年

renaissance n. 文艺复兴

edifice n. 大建筑物

extravagant adj. 极为丰富的

Shirley 全家要去罗马探亲了，那是她一直所期盼的，因为罗马有许愿池。她迫不及待地把这个好消息告诉朋友Lenna.

S = Shirley 雪 = 雪莉 L = Lenna 蕾 = 蕾娜

S: How happy I am! I'll go to Rome, the city in my dream.

L: Your dream comes true. I believe you will enjoy your trip. Tell me about it when you come back.

S: My pleasure. First I must go to Fontana di Trevi. I even have prepared the coins, and I will make lots of wishes.

L: You girls are all like this.

S: Do you know more information about Rome?

L: One of my old friends have ever told me some. Rome is a vast city, but the historic centre is quite small. Most of the major sights are within a reasonable distance of the central railway station. It is, for instance, possible to walk from the Colosseum, through the Forum, up to Piazza di Spagna and across to the Vatican in one day.

S: Just one day? Then I have more time to go to more places.

雪：我好高兴啊！我就要去罗马了，我做梦都想去的城市。

蕾：你的梦想实现了，我想你的旅途会很愉快的。回来后给我讲讲啊！

雪：十分乐意。首先我一定要去许愿池。我甚至连硬币都准备好了，我要许很多很多的愿望。

蕾： 你们女孩子都是这样。

雪： 你还知道更多的关于罗马的信息吗？

蕾： 我的一个老朋友曾经告诉过我一些。罗马虽然是一个很大的城市，但它的历史中心却很小。大部分的主要景点都离中心火车站很近，比如你可以在一天内步行从古罗马角斗场穿过古罗马市集，到达西班牙广场，然后再穿过它到达梵蒂冈。

雪： 只要一天？那我就有更多的时间去更多的地方了。

prepare vt. 准备

historic adj. 有历史意义的

vast adj. 巨大的

major adj. 大部分的

假使你在网上看到一个介绍罗马的节目，刚好有一位外国朋友问你一些关于罗马的信息。试着完成下面的对话。

1. 外国朋友: Why do so many girls like Rome?

你：______________________________________________________

2. 外国朋友: Where should I go if I want to find its history?

你：______________________________________________________

3. 外国朋友: How long will it take me if I go to its historic centre?

你：______________________________________________________

1. Because it has the famous Fontana di Trevi, and many girls like making wishes.

2. Go to the historic centre. There are the Colosseum, the Forum and Piazza di Spagna, etc.

3. It will take you just one day. The historic centre is quite small.

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