新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
4 g! F7 l, N: v2 P226. 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.'
1 v' s: _1 Y1 q" |4 ~; |2 d/ r, M5 @        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'。
: _! ^' g! E9 t227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
1 k8 b$ M- @; q: @# @4 R) ^* h        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
- g$ C2 j* _/ S) D228. 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
& e0 x: l; `9 L+ ~+ e, z        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.
        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,
2 e) ]5 F9 A% A232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
4 {# \$ v! j9 G; V; X        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,
& |1 M/ E; Z- q( G        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
5 J: b; U# T' Q5 T& E234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
8 ?4 f: @% w% d        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,
4 q7 |6 V% k; M        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.
        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。
: M  `+ m* x+ W' b* T4 U' u237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
. e/ \3 y( p6 s+ Y        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
0 {- M/ E# Q2 d" r' ~/ W' ^6 \9 v3 U% S" a238. 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。
1 S, S/ {2 ~- O, m! a7 h' Y0 z239. 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,
# u3 T  H2 ]$ Z- W240. and had a picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
1 H. ^* \* f7 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.'