新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
( ^8 t- z6 U* Y- E8 k& J* E" x226. 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.'
% r0 K, O6 p- F+ a5 a& b        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'。
' q3 D' ]0 P( C4 T" j8 M227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
: B& P% A3 [5 l5 J        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
1 M' r6 a8 A0 U7 ]$ v        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
; y  h0 Y5 ~' X( L8 m230. 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,
8 Z/ p( E$ Z% C7 ~232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
1 t9 r/ k; B# W% J% F1 }  b7 ]        很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.
& t6 y  M2 N; c; D! [6 ^$ T8 ]233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
        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.
        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
. S8 Z1 e3 {8 X% @$ r6 X) M235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
$ U0 b+ x  f, ~1 T; C! v& D0 c        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,
" V; U) k( l% L  v; C236. after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away if protection money was paid to them.
5 W  s, c. X5 F( x- y$ i/ O        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.
4 z! g% t# {$ z, u& T& r# ]        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
% g# I3 {! [8 \, I( Y  n' ]238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
8 X6 q* |" K* }: y        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
5 h; B1 ]8 \0 A# k+ Y" [9 c        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.'