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.'
5 x* Q3 o  K/ o7 {$ [        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'。
: u# o" u5 Q- J8 m0 D5 `227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
+ g* _& O+ l& p! ?0 \        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
6 _. S: z6 p+ r; e228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
/ [/ t4 v  J6 _  P! |        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
' m1 j: ?) [2 }* h0 H7 z3 \% P229. 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:
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.
1 E! L6 G9 ~: H+ F. c        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.
% w1 E; V4 I5 t+ h/ X6 ^5 ^233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
* y- S; s5 h& y5 i& q5 T$ r; A        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,
' m7 `4 q7 K" `) B8 w$ }1 Y        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.
/ `. R* H6 r) p% U8 j) k        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.
! q! ]3 ~" w/ z, q  e7 `9 U( F238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
7 s7 {! u. C$ c0 J. @' n& J* k6 Y  R        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
        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.'
        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.'