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.'
+ t0 G+ Q! \, ?& ]5 F" `! b        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.
9 |0 r% v4 D# F- ^2 J* 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.
0 P1 F8 Q# a9 L$ n- T        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
* Q( J, G' O$ X  k7 V# P9 |# ], g9 r" o229. 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:
& H4 X7 f: ]4 A; {+ F5 A230. 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.
& Q* l$ s1 U" `! z231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
8 ^* Y: `/ Y$ g0 a        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,
9 a+ X0 {+ a- q/ x  R4 n! n232. 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.
. i% L/ E2 m- ^0 H, ^2 l233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        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.
        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
9 I  v! s: H8 [: B3 o235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
, a7 t5 o, i4 _! @8 f        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.
        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.
# t. B$ \) q' G, c        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
  K2 K  y) x' W! O" U9 O- @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。
" c- c( J+ F! n  P239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
7 ~0 m* J! _% P: d% W        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
' t& c4 C8 t8 w240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
7 }6 a2 m3 L, q% h$ N        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.'