新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
/ [  R  R! r$ S( H: C5 j226. 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.'
) f, }6 Y9 H2 t5 W8 B! W        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.
( O3 M# d! E& A9 n& Q# k8 E0 D0 |228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
: {; t6 |, l- Y4 E4 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 f% G/ {3 B4 k, J* m( O0 g0 ~        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.
2 V  Y, n" A' l4 M        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
- p& K) R. t7 z  }/ W0 \8 B231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
+ s6 W4 ^' o  H; e$ N5 e  O+ e& c        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.
' M/ D7 W4 s" j, D- y' I        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
6 B( o* ^, k1 i8 B9 H1 z3 T233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
# B" f; j" a- U* i8 |& a5 X        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
$ U9 X, q! |" e% J; _8 U234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
9 H% F$ `2 v+ S* H        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
7 W+ M8 q6 b1 T9 e/ b3 T& W8 p235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
        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,
# J* [- u+ h- I" D236. 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.
4 x) |  _" U+ W% V        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
, E# G* I2 u7 `$ |$ |( c; y: ]238. 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。
+ A$ U& I) R5 E" U+ g9 U3 P239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
* h8 X2 _% X, `) D; o2 [) t1 z* K( \        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
& [' H. A  g7 r/ X: E240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
% s4 q+ z( b1 L5 r% o0 e% z8 m5 ~        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.'