新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
4 z) g- K* Y/ b* p2 `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'。
$ P! ], ^0 s* }" W% e+ ^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.
* f4 J' B9 E; L( k4 Z0 b228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
: f( R. ?( P4 k7 |% c0 e: L. ^        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
0 e$ Z5 F) y* {        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
' J! p; A4 n: E2 I230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
9 z, `( B* r2 F0 L6 K* q        '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.
# x" R  V0 p* n2 A7 J9 d- ^        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.
4 W! r* a$ l3 z* `5 r/ x        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,
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。
! J9 `6 D+ ]9 j! B235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
- K1 q; ~! j2 a: r( o        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,
, G/ `3 v  Y/ @& g236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
; a, v& ?3 j) D  N0 q$ K# O- ]        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.
1 Z( N0 s: z  A        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
* u2 E) L) f7 o1 N238. 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
, ]8 z) y, o: K/ }% ~2 b7 n$ J        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.'
( }0 V* a8 ?3 |! a$ H  v* [        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.'