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.'
1 A* c  P8 a0 a0 E4 \        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'。
227. 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.
228. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime.
  a# z7 Y' s8 W! Q% f        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
3 D; a8 F: w; ~0 e        早在14世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:
6 ?- I$ y- T. o2 [  Y+ J4 F4 t% N230. 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.
- M. \4 \1 b% X! Q; B# i& M231. Six hundred years ago, Sir John Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence.
- o( @" y0 M& ?4 h/ Z        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,
: b; b# H1 v% Q9 }. P7 ?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.
% o+ n: m- r9 l8 |0 I# x9 G233. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other,
- e6 i, }+ r' `! `# N        每次意大利各城邦之间打伏,
, F$ ~! k- P* J) m7 h# S, `1 v! x: F234. Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded.
& ~  ?+ q% O& E        霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
2 m7 U* }- n" y' F) ]# {235. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and,
8 x; F4 Q, u% v. V/ P        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。
% ~; l' b6 ?" R4 q4 O2 F! e237. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way.
        霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.
( i! C# Y) U8 x238. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero.
2 x3 R( \, y9 H* ~0 C        尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
' D$ p& r3 o9 r7 H3 `* G# f7 ^239. 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,
6 U6 g: p0 _- @, l240. 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.'