Lesson 14 A noble gangster貴族歹徒
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.聽(tīng)錄音，然后回答以下問(wèn)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(jīng)有一個(gè)時(shí)期,芝加哥的店主和商行的老板們不得不拿出大筆的錢(qián)給歹徒以換取"保護(hù)"。如果交款不及時(shí),歹徒們就會(huì)很快搗毀他的商店,讓他破產(chǎn).榨取"保 護(hù)金"并不是一種現(xiàn)代的罪惡行徑.早在14世紀(jì),英國(guó)人約翰.霍克伍德就有過(guò)非凡的發(fā)現(xiàn):"人們情愿拿出大筆的錢(qián),也不愿畢生的心血?dú)в诖跬街?
600年前,約翰.霍克伍德爵士帶著一隊(duì)士兵來(lái)到意大利,在佛羅倫薩附近駐扎下來(lái),很快就出了名.意大利人叫他喬凡尼.阿庫(kù)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(jià)的君主。和平時(shí)期,當(dāng)生意蕭條時(shí),霍克伍德便帶領(lǐng)士兵進(jìn)入某個(gè)城邦,縱火燒毀一兩個(gè)農(nóng)場(chǎng),然后提出,如向他們繳 納保護(hù)金,他們便主動(dòng)撤離。霍克伍德用這種方法掙了大筆錢(qián).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(shí),佛羅倫薩人為他舉行了國(guó)葬,并 為他畫(huà)像以紀(jì)念這位"驍勇無(wú)比的戰(zhàn)士、杰出的領(lǐng)袖喬凡尼.阿庫(kù)托先生."
New words and expressions 生詞和短語(yǔ)
gangster
n. 歹徒,強(qiáng)盜
Chicago
n. 芝加哥(美國(guó)城市)
protection
n. 保護(hù)
promptly
adv. 準(zhǔn)時(shí)地
destroy
v. 毀掉;消滅
remarkable
adj. 不尋常的
band
n. 幫,團(tuán)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(xiàn),題獻(xiàn)給
memory
n. 紀(jì)念
valiant
adj. 英勇的
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 in return for…，作"作為……的報(bào)答"講。
2 out of business，倒閉，破產(chǎn)。
3 as long ago as，作“追溯到”、“早在”講。注意要與as long as分開(kāi)，后面這個(gè)短語(yǔ)作“只要”或“長(zhǎng)達(dá)...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(qián)，也不愿自己畢生的心血?dú)в诖跬街帧?br /> 5 made a name for himself,出名了。
6 be at war with...，與...處于戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)狀態(tài)。
7 in times of peace，在和平時(shí)期。
8 a sort of hero，某種英雄。sort of 作“可以說(shuō)是一種”講。
Lesson 14 課后練習(xí)和答案Exercises and Answer
