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.'
' Q& e& N# p, b        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'。
% N: C, D+ i! e) n  Y227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
3 ~. G0 l! i% {7 ]        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
        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
        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
* F4 ^( }! K$ L  M  g5 [( D5 c230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
" c' z4 @$ Y( W7 Z: W        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
  a, H; j* J8 f: Z; ^$ `231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
6 T9 e% c6 {% _: z        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.
        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
- s/ ^& j$ \( F7 U1 @8 ]233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
( K8 z' A3 S/ V, r$ {: j        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
  t* k/ y" a. r$ d+ L/ G) n% ^/ e234. 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。
+ a, y$ x3 V' I: I235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
4 S3 z1 Z8 |9 ?! r4 e- q6 X        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.
4 i4 a: F, _( i3 \        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。
8 y7 P" Q; Z- l7 G1 E237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
4 S$ N* r3 ?+ X$ }: N  a3 c, `$ H        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
; T4 o" {0 _. C9 P239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
  P) h) G6 f8 \, Y/ p6 A        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
/ D3 {. T! ?) y0 t0 ?* w6 {( k240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
, ]' y  u" c" x( a4 m        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.'