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( N: ?3 m8 M! s- i' u+ n' ~* @2 J        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.
228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
$ u8 X5 o+ y' n8 m* }4 t        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:
4 M" e) O" C6 F  ?; C5 Q. U) I230. 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.
; n, g5 x- k3 m. e/ {        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.
3 X% l& D& D" e3 {( H- g% J2 Y233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
6 a) _8 y& g  W, }+ Y/ Q: {5 n0 a! i234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
$ d4 N- n  `5 n235. 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,
- m; o( i& O$ G  S/ X236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
2 g8 y. k  ?1 m0 ?; p, @        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.
6 m  _  I! U# S6 Q& Q        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
0 D+ V% @( A/ z7 Z& w238. 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
/ v  ~0 U  i0 E3 D' O% |8 s) Y# a        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
! V8 o2 G4 f9 x* T2 k4 s/ v240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
; N! w$ f$ s4 ~7 D% o2 l( B1 f, e% z        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.'