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! q/ U+ x5 [3 J& e  d        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.
( w$ w* b/ g+ N! a2 ?        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.
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:
- x) T/ p; c1 s- _2 k* p230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
5 p7 C6 }/ _, ~% _9 V7 w" F        '人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手.
) N$ e. o% p5 D4 X231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
. r. h2 a9 H; F* x/ S0 }        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.
233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
7 n( B; W: C4 C0 W2 H        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.
. e4 A# t$ G  w$ {1 o$ G        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
( q, f7 @& k$ {8 @; _235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
: k- r& Z" m! z9 h        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.
! U9 u( d& R& Y" x+ R; j/ W1 ?! [        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。
7 G/ Z# j# C' P/ @* X5 l237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
; \5 C. C3 I( o        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
4 i* ~) t  r  N4 J% _& s0 ?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。
( k1 y2 I- K1 R# t) [2 O0 c239. 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.'