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.'
: y5 k2 S' O. |3 Z) 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'。
! ~2 r% k, l2 Q( s" u% K227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
+ P" ~: D( B2 i8 ^* f        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.
229. 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:
& C2 A% Q# x0 V) Z- q9 S. C( x230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
3 \4 L# H' A- f+ d4 J% S        '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.
. R7 Q! V+ A" H7 _        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,
# F3 R. i( H) [; T232. 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.
/ q. ~5 x" q  [3 P, ?233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
; J3 c, N5 {% R+ r234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
/ ~  m& [( ~& C$ ]( {* C/ E        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.
        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.
% P3 ~* ?& X1 w! S( V3 z238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
: q5 b' G+ w$ B1 I        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
( U; O/ N4 Y9 {239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
  j2 O$ t8 \- ^5 _+ b5 }& L        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
$ {+ r8 Y- S3 ]% M( u240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
9 o+ g5 S, V5 S! s        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.'