新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
5 H8 y8 y# }5 O) }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'。
' B% B+ J, j/ T: {* l$ |227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
: M# y/ d& A& T        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.
! B7 K+ ~% R/ s" E        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:
  \. c! w& G4 B% R) z! {8 v3 S230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
& p8 R9 N4 |8 x9 C" v        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
1 M$ F$ p% U( z& p# k& p: ?; z231. 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,
5 ?9 m$ @" ]0 r- j7 W+ L232. 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 J! ^. {3 W8 ]9 o) V/ h3 e% u234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
3 C7 w0 d4 t- G' ~" m- N8 T        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 ]4 N) T( S% B4 q8 j. T& p) c        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 k; \  k" M! v+ T& V236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
$ H( r% N* K) K/ m        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。
) a- X" ?  H) N1 ?# P4 I237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
# N2 u% F& r, p238. 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,
5 t+ \2 v) \& `& R; ]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.'