新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
/ }! B5 q3 S2 R; C0 Z7 g8 x0 q" G226. 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.'
( {& t$ E* D! }& L; N        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'。
/ }- F  s) s7 T0 f2 s. Y227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
  R, o, I. m& X        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.
0 b+ Z$ G( B! @        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
' J7 j9 B' v$ ~8 r! B0 J229. 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.
3 M( x. q9 F; O  F  c6 _* P7 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.
& U7 P: j+ v1 A231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
  y' i& `5 x* v! i1 c; c        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,
- p) }3 N9 F# b+ L: t' A232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
5 c! ^0 I9 G9 p        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
  w2 z3 L& P5 j& l' s233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
% N1 M8 s1 Y6 `% V- y9 K' o* q5 e1 R+ j        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.
$ R2 l- O  \, R1 |0 n. v) J        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
235. 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,
. N7 @" [! O, P: E6 |1 m; K236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
# B; t& `& u' {" @  |2 {, _        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.
, v0 \* I* r3 W1 P) A        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
0 m' N+ ?" w8 @$ l  I% x238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
5 f5 _# \* [6 I6 Q- Q3 ^        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.'
' p9 K& }+ b, \! S/ P# C        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.'