Are you not entertained? And this is what you think of us. O tempora! O mores!你们难道不开心吗？你们就是这么想我们的。啊，时代！啊，传统！

Salvete! Minerva here— esteemed Roman goddess of reason, wisdom, handicrafts, and war. It’s come to my attention that many of you have been thinking about Ancient Rome... a lot. But how much do you really know? I’ll be the judge. Let’s play a little game I like to call duo vera et mendacium! Or, to the rest of you: two truths and a lie. Let's meet our three brave contestants.萨尔维特！我是弥涅耳瓦——备受尊崇的罗马理性、智慧、手工艺和战争女神。我注意到你们很多人都在思考古罗马……思考了很久。但你们到底了解多少呢？我来评判。我们来玩个小游戏，我喜欢叫它“两个真相和一个谎言”！或者，对你们其他人来说：两个真相和一个谎言。让我们来认识一下我们三位勇敢的参赛者。

And let’s show them what they’re playing for! An all-expense paid cruise aboard one of Caligula’s pleasure barges! Prepare to be wined and dined on a trip you’ll never forget— well, you’ll probably forget. As for the losers...让我们让他们见识一下他们的本事！登上卡利古拉的豪华游船，享受全程免费游轮之旅！准备好享受这趟永生难忘的旅程吧——好吧，你很可能永远都忘不了。至于输家……

The die is cast! Prepare to spot the lie! A. Gladiators had their own guilds. B. Most gladiatorial fights ended before anyone died. C. Gladiators were from an enslaved class.木已成舟！准备好揭穿谎言吧！A. 角斗士有自己的行会。B. 大多数角斗士的战斗在有人死亡之前就结束了。C. 角斗士来自奴隶阶层。

And I thought this was an easy one. It’s true that from their introduction around the 3rd century BCE, Roman gladiators were often enslaved or convicted criminals, but this changed by the 1st century CE. After the opening of the Colosseum in 80 CE, freemen and former soldiers began signing up for a life in the arena, lured by the potential for fame and regular employment. They even formed their own guilds, which organized funerals and provided pensions for gladiators’ families if they were to die. But it took a lot of time and money to train a gladiator, so it wouldn’t make any sense to have them fighting to the death— at least not all the time.我以为这个问题很容易回答。的确，自公元前3世纪左右罗马角斗士出现以来，他们通常是奴隶或罪犯，但这种情况在公元1世纪发生了变化。公元80年罗马斗兽场开放后，自由民和退伍军人开始报名参加竞技场生活，被名声和稳定工作的潜在吸引力所吸引。他们甚至成立了自己的行会，负责组织葬礼，并在角斗士身亡后为其家人提供抚恤金。但训练一名角斗士需要花费大量的时间和金钱，所以让他们战斗至死毫无意义——至少不是一直如此。

Moving on to fashion: A. The toga was the cornerstone of daily Roman dress. B. Many Roman women wore dresses made with Chinese silk. C. Urine was the primary laundry detergent for Roman clothes.再来说说时尚：A. 托加长袍是罗马人日常服饰的基石。B. 许多罗马女性穿着用中国丝绸制成的连衣裙。C. 尿液是罗马人洗衣的主要清洁剂。

While male Roman citizens did wear togas, they were strictly for ceremonial and official events. And they were worn over clothing, like tunics, never on their own. That would be indecent. As indecent as some writers called the flimsy Chinese silk dresses that became fashionable amongst upper class Roman women in the 1st century CE.虽然罗马男性公民也穿托加长袍，但仅限于礼仪和官方场合。托加长袍通常穿在束腰外衣之类的衣服外面，不能单独穿着。那样会显得不雅。就像一些作家认为公元1世纪在罗马上流社会女性中流行的轻薄中国丝绸连衣裙一样，托加长袍也显得不雅。