新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
& Y- ^, p. c! w2 `: ?4 z* S226. 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.'
4 _1 o7 }1 z6 n* {. E. [- C+ m3 x        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.
& V! M- x9 C% g0 \/ e        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
; i5 X8 W1 r( l) |# u* h  u228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
5 B6 [& `- ~0 X        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
+ c  g6 e0 b( `* n229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
( i% S; m, B. \- X        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
- @, s: d/ b0 J; h3 `& \6 T230. 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.
, I. x% W. h( L3 @4 v        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.
$ G0 Z5 J3 A0 \, C" K; P' @        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,
        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.
# u1 i' K6 x( j5 M5 p  [        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,
+ U7 R0 c0 Q( f( ^5 ~        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.
0 D7 p" D5 k9 P+ E; v7 w2 {" \238. 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。
7 ~7 c! U! [& D7 A8 h; ~$ `239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
/ Z3 B! x3 l0 R5 y        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
" ^2 v2 a" D, }2 F6 L# w+ ~8 @' W240. 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.'