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 B3 m4 r  i$ o6 ^+ Q/ d        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'。
# `. Z& X  I6 w6 g* K% }& h+ c227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
; v0 ~3 B+ P$ j: @$ H        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
- t5 S! {7 n, n2 q! v, P# z228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
$ G$ S( H4 B( {0 r        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
1 p5 [2 m) s/ F+ @5 j; W, l& |        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
' c4 J0 |- ]1 \& W: N3 u+ M* E+ b230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
2 `' q5 K0 Q: {# F3 V1 Q- 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.
231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
5 v# u7 D2 ?' q/ F/ K        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,
+ R1 Y9 B0 R' e' D9 T! n4 n! ?0 l232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
% C; J! l5 d1 z( r( N233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
; G- s0 m  s% c  q) d        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
6 |/ k0 Y+ ?+ y/ x" k( C234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
" ^& i$ s9 |' k# a+ u" @# `        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
6 E* O' A% c7 C        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.
- x9 o. b: Q! k5 z. }8 |5 F5 p7 O        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.
        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。
239. 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,
240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
% T  n/ E8 {% N3 Q/ s        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.'