新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
226. There was a time when the owners of shops and businesses in Chicago had to pay large sums of money to gangsters in return for 'protection.'
6 j9 E# X% c& O  }8 D, z1 A- F+ W        曾经有一个时期,芝加哥的店主和商行的老板们不得不拿出大笔的钱给歹徒以换取'保护'。
227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
0 s2 J9 h; `5 J        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
3 W2 C! A& q! |+ I" N1 }2 e228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
9 h% k2 J" Z% S# p& X        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
8 K+ e+ B3 D/ z5 b$ ], x5 X        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
. P# j+ K4 X: }- D230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
  P, }0 B: |; ?6 [        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
0 q9 ~* |+ Q' v2 s. _231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
        600年前,约翰.霍克伍德爵士带着一队士兵来到意大利,在佛罗伦萨附近驻扎下来,
232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
" R6 C9 U; v1 f4 g) d% e        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
4 a( X" Y/ i+ m; d/ s7 u) w" E, c233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
* J8 P- v) Z- B! F        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
4 ^; a8 d/ @2 `" o234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
- Z/ x: |8 b; J% S) ], ^235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
        和平时期,当生意萧条时,霍克伍德便带领士兵进入某个城邦,
236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
        纵火烧毁一两个农场,然后提出,如向他们缴纳保护金,他们便主动撤离。
237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
/ T+ N7 L7 ?3 p: m238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
2 f! m' L1 {+ Q! z7 t        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
! n4 q$ B4 e# A1 u, K. \+ d        并为他画像以纪念这位'骁勇无比的战士、杰出的领袖乔凡尼.阿库托先生.'