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.'
        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'。
8 x$ H3 o% j! ~8 q227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
        如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产.
+ F2 s  J. a5 k! Q" g( v228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
/ Z0 @: ^( r+ e/ Y% o        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:
1 V/ r. X! i  c230. 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.
# V0 {% [; h7 i  p2 l231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
, u' Q# f+ u' v! a        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,
) R7 ?6 K" S- w% \% f* b& [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,
        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.
6 C1 e2 w, W$ t9 ~$ D+ e) A        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
& X0 F$ U0 P. @9 F0 |# E, y235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
$ }( \( O0 p2 h7 u/ f4 A        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,
) X2 i- h3 V' s  q8 A+ `$ `# r" N236. 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。
7 [" K% q, J8 R3 X" _3 Z* A237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
1 p$ O9 j& V; e9 t) p  A        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。
3 {4 D- h9 Z: x5 E239. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral
) q# |; o$ e4 }; H; Y1 Q* G! D! ?6 a% 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.'
* N* S' f7 `7 x. J5 Q        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.'