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.'
: Y: @2 @3 X, u6 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.
        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
0 H: X6 w, e) s+ `! s2 j- |' v228. 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.
' n" X$ ]* W, F6 i$ {) s% [  ~229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
& Z, a; ~- a" S        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
, u5 o+ z3 h! L: I, Z230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
8 n) }  t/ P( w& v2 r        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
% O/ Q; j! X- A' {9 l6 G231. 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,
% ^& V" H8 z7 a, j( T- F% h232. 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,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
1 ^6 C* e( V! Q" b234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
# t3 S9 q; _* s4 w! G. V8 J        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
# e3 c2 ^7 F" \- P9 c$ [" x5 \235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
( {$ s( r; _. c3 A* k4 r! z        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,
5 h3 P2 N0 K3 q$ D# L& M6 ?3 `236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
6 h' r+ R( H8 g' T5 l! M0 L' T        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。
9 ]& y* ~- G/ y- y( E237. 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
  D2 l2 u" F: R# h$ @1 h2 S: o1 g- U        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
2 ~4 ?* J7 k6 U8 z% S240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
! m. L* a- L% }2 T4 R4 ~: t) l/ L        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.'