New Concept English III - 14 (08/16/09)

Lesson 14 A noble gangster 贵族歹徒

Listen to the tape /then answer the question below.

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

How did Hawkwood /make money 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 and work destroyed by gangsters.

Six hundred years ago, Sir John 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 if 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 picture painted which was dedicated to the memory of \'the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.\'


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I tried to use thought group skills in this article. Hopefully it can make the intonation and stress a little bit better. It would be good if I can make a small step every day.