IELTS Reading 練習 4 古羅馬建築（含題目+詳解）

Ancient Roman Architecture

IELTS · 雅思備考 · 12 min read · 2026-04-25

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主題: Roman engineering and architecture
文章重點: Roman builders combined three innovations — concrete, the arch and the vault — with imported Greek decoration to roof unprecedented spaces, supply cities with water, and shape European architecture for two millennia.
難度: 進階 · Upper-Intermediate
建議時間: 19 分鐘

重要單字

pragmatic — practical rather than theoretical / 務實的
vault — a curved roof or ceiling / 拱頂
voussoir — a wedge-shaped stone in an arch / 楔形拱石
unreinforced — not strengthened with steel or other supports / 未加固的
aqueduct — a structure that carries water across distance / 引水道、渡槽
synthesis — a combination of separate elements / 綜合、融合

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

The Romans were famous for combining concrete, the round arch and the vault to build interior spaces no Greek post-and-lintel design could match. Their volcanic-ash concrete grew stronger in seawater and survives after two millennia. Arches enabled vast domes such as the Pantheon, while aqueducts supplied vast cities. By dressing engineered structures with Greek columns, Roman architects produced a hybrid style that influenced Europe for two thousand years.

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — Three innovations, one signature style

The Romans are often remembered as pragmatic builders rather than original thinkers, yet their engineering achievements transformed the architectural possibilities of the ancient world. Their signature contribution was not a single building but a combination of three innovations: concrete, the arch, and the vault. Applied together, these allowed the Romans to roof interior spaces of a scale that Greek post-and-lintel construction could not match.

本段重要單字 (3)

pragmatic — practical / 務實的
vault — a curved roof / 拱頂
post-and-lintel — a structure of vertical posts supporting a horizontal beam / 柱樑式

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

According to the writer, what was the Romans' most important architectural contribution?

A. The invention of any single famous building.
B. A combination of concrete, the arch and the vault.
C. The decoration of buildings with Greek columns.

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答案：B — B. A combination of concrete, the arch and the vault.

The paragraph says the signature contribution was "not a single building but a combination of three innovations: concrete, the arch, and the vault".

2 段落 2 — Concrete that improves with age

Roman concrete, known as opus caementicium, was a mixture of volcanic ash, lime, seawater and broken stone. It set hard, resisted fire and, remarkably, grew stronger when exposed to seawater — a property that modern researchers have only recently begun to understand in chemical detail. Unlike modern Portland cement, which slowly degrades, samples of Roman harbour concrete taken from breakwaters off the Italian coast remain intact after more than two thousand years.

本段重要單字 (3)

volcanic ash — fine particles thrown out by a volcano / 火山灰
degrade — to break down or weaken / 退化、降解
breakwater — a barrier built into the sea / 防波堤

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

How does Roman concrete differ from modern Portland cement when exposed to seawater?

A. Roman concrete weakens faster than Portland cement.
B. Both materials behave in the same way over time.
C. Roman concrete grows stronger, while Portland cement slowly degrades.

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答案：C — C. Roman concrete grows stronger, while Portland cement slowly degrades.

The text directly contrasts them: Roman concrete "grew stronger when exposed to seawater", while Portland cement "slowly degrades".

3 段落 3 — Arches, vaults and the Pantheon

The round arch, inherited from the Etruscans but refined by Roman builders, allowed weight to be channelled down through wedge-shaped stones called voussoirs. When extended linearly, arches became barrel vaults; rotated around a central point, they became domes. The Pantheon in Rome, completed around 126 CE under the emperor Hadrian, contains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome — a span of 43.3 metres that no builder matched until the Renaissance.

本段重要單字 (3)

voussoir — a wedge-shaped stone in an arch / 楔形拱石
dome — a rounded roof / 穹頂
unreinforced — not strengthened with steel / 未加固的

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What does the writer note about the Pantheon's dome?

A. It was the first dome ever built in Europe.
B. Its size was not surpassed until the Renaissance.
C. It was reinforced with iron rods to keep it stable.

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答案：B — B. Its size was not surpassed until the Renaissance.

The text says the dome's 43.3-metre span was one "no builder matched until the Renaissance" — i.e. for more than a thousand years.

4 段落 4 — Aqueducts and water on an imperial scale

Aqueducts carried this engineering logic across the empire. At their peak, eleven aqueducts supplied the city of Rome alone, delivering an estimated one million cubic metres of water daily. The Pont du Gard in southern France, built without mortar from precisely cut stone, still stands almost intact after nineteen centuries. The same logic of arch upon arch that produced domed interiors also enabled water to be carried down a precise gradient over enormous distances.

本段重要單字 (3)

aqueduct — a structure carrying water / 引水道
mortar — a paste used to bond bricks or stones / 灰漿、水泥
gradient — a slope or rate of incline / 坡度

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What is impressive about the construction of the Pont du Gard?

A. It was built using a million cubic metres of mortar.
B. It was completed in less than a year.
C. It was built without mortar yet remains almost intact.

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答案：C — C. It was built without mortar yet remains almost intact.

The paragraph notes the Pont du Gard was "built without mortar from precisely cut stone" and still stands almost intact after nineteen centuries.

5 段落 5 — Greek decoration on Roman engineering

Roman builders were not, however, indifferent to aesthetics. They imported Greek decorative vocabulary — Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns — and applied it as surface ornament to concrete structures. This synthesis of Greek form with Roman engineering produced a distinctive style that shaped European architecture for two millennia, visible from Renaissance palaces to nineteenth-century parliament buildings.

本段重要單字 (3)

aesthetics — principles of beauty / 美學
ornament — decoration / 裝飾
synthesis — a combination of elements / 融合

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Why does the writer mention nineteenth-century parliament buildings?

A. To suggest that Roman engineering was eventually forgotten.
B. To show how long Roman-Greek synthesis influenced European architecture.
C. To argue that modern architects copied Greek buildings directly.

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答案：B — B. To show how long Roman-Greek synthesis influenced European architecture.

The example illustrates that the synthesis "shaped European architecture for two millennia, visible from Renaissance palaces to nineteenth-century parliament buildings" — i.e. very long-lasting influence.

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閱讀前先看 Before you read

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — Three innovations, one signature style

2 段落 2 — Concrete that improves with age

3 段落 3 — Arches, vaults and the Pantheon

4 段落 4 — Aqueducts and water on an imperial scale

5 段落 5 — Greek decoration on Roman engineering

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