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.'
, G5 q. p& v  g* E% Q, o5 w        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'。
: p  [, ^. J# J2 n' I6 Z227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
$ B6 g  ~) o: g        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.
2 ]# m! I% c3 V; u        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
1 f* Z% C. B4 Q/ q5 r2 U6 ^, {8 G229. 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.
8 g  Y$ d6 h9 h: a0 j# a% X3 h        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
8 r' m6 X' g0 M231. 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,
4 z# ^7 O4 l/ u232. 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.
# f4 }- X/ G& D6 \; t. o, |3 J, n233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
& o- ~: ^; O+ T3 \$ N- ]5 @        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.
6 @2 a1 C# t2 c$ x! f        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,
        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,
8 q/ O, X7 H& W236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
* M2 t: W! @& l        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.
' k% S. ?& S5 |! ^        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
' l. b( F8 G+ t0 V4 V6 |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.'
0 t2 z0 @2 s) U% i; u4 f3 Y        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.'