新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
0 \8 z2 _  C! t% s; x7 o. 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.'
( W1 y- I# M0 |! w1 a$ J: r        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'。
4 o+ X0 }* ~6 \1 k7 l5 E0 r227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
( a8 A! k7 N5 O' @* q& d        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.
. x; f  P4 F! b" _* Z        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:
230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
        '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.
( x# x6 N4 \8 A! s& g        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,
. p0 J' i+ O2 N/ g5 t; u232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
( J4 d- l+ c( _. h6 p' H7 U        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,
2 H( o: {8 ^4 l        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
: }/ N/ g- s! o  |' G( }234. 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。
" }5 F6 S' z. [+ t" J235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
! y$ k1 R4 v5 {4 z0 {; W        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,
' ]7 P% @( o- [' ~$ o& t- \. A236. 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.
. E0 P* w3 D- z+ S" ]0 ]238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
  \! S8 W! `0 C        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
- `9 k$ n# Z; a0 x" i239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
! S2 M( k' |, c        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.'