新概念英語第三冊第14課:A noble gangster

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Lesson 14 A noble gangster貴族歹徒

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
How did Haywood make in times of peace?
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.' If the money was not paid promptly, the gangsters would quickly put a man out of business by destroying his shop. Obtaining 'protection money' is not a modern crime. As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.
Six hundred years ago, Sir Johan Hawkwood arrived in Italy with a band of soldiers and settled near Florence. He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto. Whenever the Italian city-states were at war with each other, Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded. In times of peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood and his men would march into a city-state and, after burning down a few farms, would offer to go away protection money was paid to them. Hawkwood made large sums of money in this way. In spite of this, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero. When he died at the age of eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral and had a pictured with as dedicated to the memory of 'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
參考譯文
曾經有一個時期,芝加哥的店主和商行的老板們不得不拿出大筆的錢給歹徒以換取"保護"。如果交款不及時,歹徒們就會很快搗毀他的商店,讓他破產.榨取"保護金"并不是一種現代的罪惡行徑.早在14世紀,英國人約翰.霍克伍德就有過非凡的發現:"人們情愿拿出大筆的錢,也不愿畢生的心血毀于歹徒之手.
600年前,約翰.霍克伍德爵士帶著一隊士兵來到意大利,在佛羅倫薩附近駐扎下來,很快就出了名.意大利人叫他喬凡尼.阿庫托.每次意大利各城邦之間打伏,霍克伍德把他的士兵雇傭給愿給他出高價的君主。和平時期,當生意蕭條時,霍克伍德便帶領士兵進入某個城邦,縱火燒毀一兩個農場,然后提出,如向他們繳納保護金,他們便主動撤離。霍克伍德用這種方法掙了大筆錢.盡管如此,意大利人還是把他視作某種英雄。他80歲那年死去時,佛羅倫薩人為他舉行了國葬,并為他畫像以紀念這位"驍勇無比的戰士、杰出的領袖喬凡尼.阿庫托先生."

New words and expressions 生詞和短語
gangster
n. 歹徒,強盜

Chicago
n. 芝加哥(美國城市)

protection
n. 保護

promptly
adv. 準時地

destroy
v. 毀掉;消滅

remarkable
adj. 不尋常的

band
n. 幫,團伙

Florence
n. 佛羅倫薩(意大利城市)

city-state
n. (古代)城邦

hire
v. 租出,雇給

prince
n. 君主,諸候

Florentine
n. 佛羅倫薩人

funeral
n. 葬禮

dedicate
v. 奉獻,題獻給

memory
n. 紀念

valiant
adj. 英勇的

Notes on the text課文注釋
1 in return for…，作"作為……的報答"講。
2 out of business，倒閉，破產。
3 as long ago as，作“追溯到”、“早在”講。注意要與as long as分開，后面這個短語作“只要”或“長達...之久”講。
4 people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters,人們情愿支付一大筆錢，也不愿自己畢生的心血毀于歹徒之手。
5 made a name for himself,出名了。
6 be at war with...，與...處于戰爭狀態。
7 in times of peace，在和平時期。
8 a sort of hero，某種英雄。sort of 作“可以說是一種”講。