新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
  h* }1 ?1 h" r1 f. F. |0 @, w226. 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.'
8 T7 i* a4 S5 o2 R9 i8 p4 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'。
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.
        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
, h0 V" H+ U& C* V229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
& J" F4 P" }2 y3 w( e8 N        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.
9 f$ z( U& ?! D; \0 V        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.
        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
! u2 L7 m( {$ J; i/ G3 ?; C        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
# r) h* K) V# ~+ g0 }+ o234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
% K/ c! u( e* {# r8 [) c& `, B        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
* a  b* m7 V- S6 J' X) u235. 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,
236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
: G3 D) k$ A3 [7 x% V        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。
+ W8 v5 ~/ k2 R2 }2 }* u0 F239. 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,
; E; t3 d* A7 A+ z( M2 q240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
: v7 H2 z* b  \+ I        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.'