新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
- z; ~- y8 X! O" ~2 N/ Y" o226. 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.'
. `- g) e# ?5 C) t+ j6 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'。
, R# T- l4 `8 G/ v8 a- c" z227. 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.
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.
6 K0 a5 [$ I( D3 B- g2 x9 h6 ]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:
9 `' z8 t3 b- `" G" I230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
) c3 f( R- G  J( P/ A        '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,
232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
) B9 X6 a& J8 M( \# L, B) s/ `% @        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,
2 O5 i( {( g1 L1 x$ H234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
6 w, ~) N# F8 c. y/ g        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
7 j0 x3 e+ v) [7 M: {% e2 o6 o: C235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
1 j4 Z8 r7 g  X1 P! r( {% K/ p. q        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。
9 E7 y5 {, P& p8 M6 [9 M0 }4 R) ~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.
4 ]  @9 @: J( i5 W: C7 Q8 B        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
3 `8 q4 s/ p1 ?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.'
* S" E" T0 }3 Y: e4 N$ B        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.'