新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
! y0 l/ ?0 I- F/ V& z+ [8 Z226. 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.'
% K! b- s' p' c& @+ X; p' H+ [" P2 v        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 H' W* W0 M6 E& p227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
8 @, {' |  u5 y$ A! y        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
+ y) b! [$ q, n: e1 |4 z  P$ N: s+ l3 K& o        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.
2 Q/ P+ i( ^4 q- t        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
% ]9 I8 m6 m2 s8 m' _) Z  B$ O231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
5 D0 R& ]- s! P: o$ F% {/ [6 ~        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,
0 E+ W6 y2 y. e) N5 f232. 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.
233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
8 u9 a* l' K  v: n2 ~! T8 L        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.
: m; ~8 ~4 v1 k5 O/ R+ M. u$ ~) M        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,
5 F/ |/ H9 A, M- V) V+ U" S% f        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,
8 y! J& J" ?% K/ U8 c236. 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。
" j( {2 @6 z0 E- ~237. 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.
        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,
' k- K2 q$ Y, M, ]/ ?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.'