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.'
; p$ W7 r1 _( J, 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.
' b* z8 M) p& I2 i7 Q228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
: E6 r) H# Z. r5 @$ K4 O        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
0 C3 o* z- j1 [4 g6 O7 x229. 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.
$ y* r5 L) d0 U" M, m        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
$ R% B+ P6 Q& R" b2 ]% n: f/ ^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,
1 F  Y; G/ t4 Z6 s1 ^0 C232. 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.
+ ]; f* G" I0 Z233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
7 c2 ^  g8 |, q2 F234. 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。
- ~3 e" x3 f! P: V235. 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.
2 ?5 {; l; w# S' A        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。
5 w  z" D- l1 `5 I237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
/ |" b; w5 T8 N& p        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.
+ \8 `- O; O  `% u* i        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
9 u% N2 c! e. F! V239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
" f7 e8 A7 g* U4 g) 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.'