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.'
: ]7 ^$ D5 l, E! C, 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'。
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.
        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
/ A$ R6 Z. h7 Y0 q+ W229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
3 K1 q$ E+ C7 [3 |        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
% m7 o: r  ^- ?230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
8 X, f2 P! W. S  p- _$ 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.
231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
$ P- [2 A4 f) C3 R3 T/ G/ 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.
- }% X; ?/ {4 S6 F        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
: z+ t( }* f# {' o- j1 U233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
3 U6 ~2 n4 ]1 }4 v( o        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
8 ?  R' k" ~* ], A" m1 p0 _234. 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。
2 A/ c3 p, m4 e/ a235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
7 z( h7 X% `9 J! e- _/ f. V  i% ~        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.
9 @% }, F! E( I, {5 D& M# |238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
' s3 s* Q0 Q* V: c% [        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
3 Q9 z3 ^% [2 K* m/ C) w9 k) W+ y  ^239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
: y" c5 P% j9 M. {. k, a( h        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
% z+ d' j/ v; q6 ~; J( A* x$ @        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.'