新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
& q. \6 R0 t( @! d( \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.'
9 F6 f% O- {( }# H3 b; U2 r        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.
8 A6 a3 W7 w7 ?' B. l% \        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
8 ?* G' C* x% Y% z        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
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,
, V0 Y( A$ G2 x5 l/ o+ Y232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
4 h% L) N0 b7 m7 v) w        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
/ A- q& A& l8 T+ [        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
. h# O1 m9 x9 x  Q( J234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
7 @! L2 u( X6 H5 q+ f        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
2 m1 P) @# ~6 f8 L& ^6 N        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.
+ h3 u0 _+ O3 K$ x1 Q( M" E% i        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.
: y, J& C% X  Z0 V238. 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
! k5 M5 @7 z* u+ R- P4 K        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
$ h4 U: ^/ N$ ?+ Z. u) {0 N& U240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
. v5 O* S  U, f/ Z        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.'