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.'
  {1 `8 K4 }2 z! I/ T' q) x        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.
; O+ k. {7 I: y! ~) x# W& _228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
, _6 n/ _' X0 u; x        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
! n+ o5 E! L$ h5 E. {: L+ r2 C229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
7 S( b0 L4 `: j0 L# W4 U        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
2 \$ _/ Q! p+ Q$ O" {" m230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
+ F4 B" ~3 j" O  I) l0 z        '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.
        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,
  T: H! s: @! r3 I9 q' V# Y, m) 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.
233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
- C; K8 I0 H6 e+ m234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
8 c) K) y. C: J7 e+ l, x        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,
236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
4 M) E( s4 f" z1 U7 t        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。
: E0 k8 I% r# P* E: w/ b+ O+ q# A& p237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
2 {% H( F9 L+ o' \# k        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
3 N" e5 Q1 M8 |( w8 n* d238. 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。
- I7 M* L. ~6 q; E239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
) y$ C: v# i. E( ]% r9 L4 ?$ I1 f7 x        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.'
        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.'