新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
5 g# j" v! C, O0 v) 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.'
        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'。
+ N/ m8 k+ p; {7 j227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
# t/ J5 W5 j) E2 f7 [. W        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
4 V" Q6 g9 W2 T/ D& N228. 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.
- f, R% @+ _. M% O1 O2 ~( C+ D2 i229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
( p6 q) f5 a- }+ X        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
- J& W8 K! f. c' c230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
- J3 E& o* N% U: e        '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.
- ^- F2 Z, u5 o8 s( |7 U        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,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
3 E$ e0 f  _' O2 P: y. P& |234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
$ o' ?+ n0 s6 b3 p        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
. ^" l( y1 n$ w& ~. h. a235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
9 W2 a6 X  b; J& L        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.
" W$ W9 G& u) _* K( t2 |        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。
) o; b* v+ f, ^/ E& w, `237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
/ @/ ?: J/ F* A9 Q! l        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
1 k( j; }8 Q  T! F$ k3 ~238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
- N( f. i, d  V. `5 w) L; c        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
8 ]" z: f$ }. E4 [/ M6 W5 ~( O239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
$ y& G0 u9 B+ R        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
9 S2 j4 C0 y! q8 ], m240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
        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.'