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.'
$ u4 M$ }5 A! V2 H5 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'。
8 Y& Q7 R& ~% y; J) v# L3 m4 k227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
$ j0 I$ W; Y  G4 t! ^1 B. {- p        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.
4 v6 [% M) i  Z, e# @# Q        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:
5 M, P- W! b$ A) \/ e! o230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
4 m4 \$ ]/ w1 p9 S' u0 Y        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
. V* t/ I  W+ X  h( @. R) t# x231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
. N/ i* Y$ m/ y+ a        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,
9 z/ G5 |1 \& m8 z  A232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
; M6 N2 s7 N* m7 F7 {3 g0 t        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
$ v1 {+ H5 _3 L' ~; r233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
' Y* G* p  u4 \2 |! @1 ?        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.
) ]( v4 c8 I% S! v( V        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
& t2 R% D3 d9 I9 b9 [- J! V0 c235. 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.
7 G' ~( W# o' J5 S) d( c        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。
3 ~/ U) Q) O9 I; }# E5 _6 d2 @* J237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
5 ]% s) U  s. ~6 [% u" o3 K" w3 d        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.
+ V' x+ V- p& _& l0 I/ A# ], o+ |        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.'