新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课14

ltlong52010

课文14  贵族歹徒
* B* Q" M7 E0 H$ c$ m% D, \9 S" _2 d226. 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'。
! R8 V" l1 q+ m! B227. 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.
# j0 n9 o- p1 C  Q( e. N% @3 z228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
* W0 w3 _" x' U$ N1 D& ]( v        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
& y  P/ m. L8 G9 q9 ^5 U+ e7 x229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
  l+ u" i6 Q+ j& o) b* `        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.
! f* q5 w6 x* u8 R! O) |! n- m231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
1 X7 e9 Q" g8 R        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,
232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
. b- r5 f5 ~) A) M! Z        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,
# t2 n; R# \! y, t; A- y234. 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。
" W/ w: q+ g8 b% ~  F# n& ?, A235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
5 h& e' G) D& F" S  i! c5 S        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,
) a% o  @9 i8 m) o  x% k3 R2 ?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。
237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
9 i6 X$ T2 d0 ]238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
% m' X4 |9 z$ W. U" v. z. e/ Q        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
6 t4 x6 E/ w( n% A        他80岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,
& V6 K' F& u$ Z6 `8 ~8 n( K, s240. 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.'