新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
. t: U8 Y6 y) m, J1 z; e" E1 W226. 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.'
  u: b* P; f# w* Y& _  h        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.
3 g$ z. U8 m( z! Q$ ]& {228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
2 i( m1 P& m3 _2 l& D8 @        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
- w4 y: l" x, h! z( g* ]229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
' O7 O& v. Z0 J+ Y/ ^        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.
7 K* C( w+ Z8 x        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
% W+ j. I* ]( k! E2 P6 S231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
' m6 Z) Y" @7 X# s$ E        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.
        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
: G- F4 ^+ K7 G# `/ [% q! T& L233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
, h* m" @" [6 s, A        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.
/ L+ T  C9 l; {( F& O        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
% U/ A  n% v2 R) P235. 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.
$ f* d' n1 f  I' E# W) o& J( R        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.
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。
/ A% w& H- `3 t8 v+ B3 F  }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.'
        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.'