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.'
( J0 o' _4 }) J) N5 s        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.
6 ^; [& }2 m  o8 E        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
, j# a1 W' V. @7 [228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
8 ^$ u% l5 x( O  ^- \. R  G0 S9 f        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
; |7 i8 Y  Y5 ?; I9 g229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
" j3 ~, c- @# t7 Y  g! e        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
2 K3 H1 z' h8 d( n1 D230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
9 i: D2 a  Z! C/ V* S- k, e        '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,
. V8 u8 Y0 Z2 Q232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
  O( L- l3 d# I  n        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,
& i9 n. o" Q; o2 b3 T/ i234. 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。
+ E% `+ H; Q+ W: L2 A- _( E$ x235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
& t( ]3 [1 G! b" s        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.
4 t; f  d: K/ @; F! c9 i. G        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。
  O2 ^9 b) n: M: M* A237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
) U+ E: Y! X7 W4 U" s" H7 }$ E, F        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。
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.'
; V" l3 O( X  q, O, W+ u+ u% V        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.'