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.'
0 V2 U# B! u1 D5 }& L+ Y        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.
- t+ z, L) f( f# T* C8 s) D        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.
5 K1 b6 e  L% ~: C# O; {7 H* [        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
/ h  M+ X  c: Y  J  ?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:
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.
% O, P4 j6 Z; n. L# d( q9 Q6 G        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,
1 k# X3 j8 E- B232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
! `% |; k) T% L& V* Y& K+ j3 h: O1 c        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
1 U, J  l6 V4 s: T+ R233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
) s8 O* i/ E  C3 K0 y; N5 W- H4 ]/ W234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
8 B$ v1 ?+ p1 v/ @        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
6 s/ ^' s( J- ]* b& F- K; t235. 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,
% x, F3 ^/ M# s# F236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
0 s; P) @3 D; O7 S2 ]        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。
( q2 A1 x0 T; ]) P/ ]9 L237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
% l0 K6 _/ j; Q! B8 l        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.
        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
0 ]" T! S6 X6 I) i% Q6 v6 S  W239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
$ Z) X2 i+ \8 z, F4 r1 G        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.'
! E- K' |* `* B/ l        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.'