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.'
1 v2 q" ]0 Z  M/ [0 m        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'。
$ [& _4 U# N/ X; i227. 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.
2 f( z2 K5 c2 O229. 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:
230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
- P8 A2 A8 J, P5 [. _1 }  t8 X8 p        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
7 I5 v, X+ @& B4 @$ R9 L231. 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,
/ f" U7 \6 U! O8 ]8 S! Y! i232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
  q$ b8 j2 w: {4 x6 A7 S  p        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
! A) q. W1 g* E7 i0 X5 w1 j233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
, L- m9 _" C) [1 o        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.
4 \9 A  o' h" E3 p' Q0 y" D        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
* S. h$ b( x0 N7 c! A7 b' d235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
$ x) n0 k, H" I5 K' A) {( w        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。
( a& r  m2 c& A7 N, G$ `1 w237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
4 a$ D5 y+ o- s8 h+ Q; u        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
2 C7 U; x! g( Y$ G6 g* y        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
4 u6 C: u1 a& d8 K239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
2 M7 m7 r2 m3 F$ Q# A, @        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
; ]4 O7 [! L! X7 ?/ D240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
, f. `0 g$ f5 @* q* s" J9 ^5 ~# E/ W        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.'