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 z% s% \3 v0 E6 O! }  e        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.
228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
: @" f3 l( ~+ e- y  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:
2 v# g# e  M+ ^230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
        '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.
        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.
! C0 V& j0 S/ r. v$ r7 h6 d        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
# z( {3 q1 v3 c6 O! G8 v1 i' b0 B7 c233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
: {2 |3 D3 H' b) m# a        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.
) L; a! R+ p$ z2 H' H6 J        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
5 @5 o/ d/ a* E( \235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
6 ?& V5 M& N% ?! D$ I        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,
! a8 S1 P8 e5 a% l' L236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
: o- h6 p0 j, l3 ~1 j% `0 Q        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。
7 s; w6 O# f. g; u' ~+ G237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
+ w& t1 U9 @$ D* D6 d# U# D9 U        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
; F* O; Z3 }" o5 ]) F238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
, S. E  @2 n5 s# x        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
( B* L- P# d$ ^8 f. M7 P4 v8 L        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.'
7 U: T, q8 ^) q7 k8 r. e% [        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.'