新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
- G# j4 S! o% G4 R6 W226. 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'。
& t2 t. v; i1 |; a  K- W2 {/ J227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
9 z5 @8 \& n' \5 V0 l        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
0 r9 ^: M; W9 d/ y* N228. 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.
! q; Y, x/ h/ D. p+ u9 _229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
9 T" Y, f& e+ {1 N, R        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
5 M3 C; Q; z7 q5 l230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
, Y) S. I% w+ h4 g2 ^) 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.
9 M; |% H* D: L2 Q# C- J- T. H231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
" y4 d. q2 r5 W2 y        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,
# E0 ^% k" e5 A! c. T232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
  {2 D" m, |2 e        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.
/ y  i' \# J. V, W6 ?% \) V) a        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
9 j0 i6 H& W0 M$ O0 ?235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
3 c; O" [  E' }9 Q. d1 O" n        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。
& R' |  |3 g  g# ?0 {237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
$ F& H( C" _* m' d* @* w5 f        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
7 R" F# h1 }1 j; f238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
% |# S0 R6 D8 v, A2 F8 k% n        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
* o3 r9 E% H4 U- T239. 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,
1 r" W- k8 d1 B9 k2 N3 D240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
! `$ q( E; Z9 Q# M$ k        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.'