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.'
) p1 D7 V; ~+ V" 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'。
% X7 K3 {3 L/ s, N( N227. If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop.
/ d$ L2 i! U. \6 ^4 O2 P        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.
1 C9 ~: O& K5 l' Q' c        榨取'保护金'并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.
( |9 D% x. T* T8 U229. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery
2 R* C3 |/ i% D5 w3 n+ q        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
* Q& r  H# s- u7 Y230. that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
* I" t1 w. G# g& s        '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,
) l* B0 @$ G7 K+ ]232. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.
6 B0 h$ O& p/ d- U6 w3 `! Z$ P4 J        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.
5 A+ @# N, b9 g6 W# T+ c        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
/ Q+ y5 ]: G2 r% W; W4 \235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
( m. D& z* ?- I5 P% D! l        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。
1 u, G3 T7 p) B0 U+ j8 [  V237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
) E3 N$ v' P/ [        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.
  U* p8 P+ K8 P6 p( l! l1 C0 p        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
; l  N- ^6 _' X9 k3 z3 n+ z& C+ Q239. 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,
5 N0 j- [6 s8 ?% d4 j7 w240. 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.'