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.'
        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'。
1 W* ?' x6 J$ x227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
9 ]( a: X9 u: O3 D, U1 r! B        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
1 D( ^7 y' t! j; f# w8 q228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
5 V# E# |! W- m2 F4 ]% P        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
2 Y) A' E( e8 w+ I0 y( ?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:
230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
' w1 ]3 i0 z0 z* x8 k5 F# W4 z        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
0 L7 C  u0 _/ V231. 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,
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.
7 s0 t9 ?$ R) p; J233. 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.
- Q: m( i( ]2 C. z        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,
# r' v# d8 x9 t' \4 q  z3 U        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 D. }# C: E7 E) S236. 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。
% ^) V8 y5 a. i% v/ I237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
8 |+ j5 B# r/ j) d- j+ f$ u; G        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.
# Q# B5 u7 z( J6 h/ G1 F. F! |        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
: r$ k) P' E3 H        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
  f1 [9 n, w9 l, e240. 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.'