新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
; d/ |  Z, Y/ n  S# G, F0 H$ n226. 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.'
3 t4 ?# r/ n1 f        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'。
0 |, {2 G$ c% ^9 Z/ ~227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
9 \6 l. u# B5 v$ `' d+ O        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.
1 G9 x+ X, b4 m4 K. J) `9 [3 K4 \        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
2 N9 s3 [, m+ |1 z. e5 U        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
! }$ C: t3 x  R230. 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.
7 x  w0 P: h6 \. E$ |( {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,
8 }" Q7 `% v) E- J  O! p232. 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,
5 N9 U3 m+ w7 H" p5 O        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.
/ B! n: K' m, J1 P5 C* \9 u        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
: L/ d+ M( b* a: b( O235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
! _, Z0 f8 h( t9 t        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,
1 {* A/ n7 z* p" h9 x. d' K' @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。
8 L5 ^& e% f8 P! j; _237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
+ u  v6 e! s- b  D) v+ d+ }        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
3 D! d; z2 J; }& d# j/ q. D        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.'