1、精选新概念必背优秀文章 36 篇 1 新概念三新概念三 Lesson 14 A noble gangster 贵族歹徒贵族歹徒 T Th he er re e w wa as s a a t ti imme e w wh he en n the owners of shops and businesses in Chicago had to pay large sums of money to gangsters i in n r re et tu ur rn n f fo or r protection. If the money was not paid promptly, the gan
2、gsters would quickly put a man o ou ut t o of f b bu us si in ne es ss s by destroying his shop. Obtaining protection money is not a modern crime. A As s l lo on ng g a ag go o a as s the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery that people w wo ou ul ld d
3、r ra at th he er r 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 mma ad de e a a n na amme e f fo or r h hi imms se el lf f and c ca amme e t to o b be e
4、k kn no ow wn n t to o the Italians as Giovanni Acuto. Whenever the Italian city-states were a at t w wa ar r w wi it th h each other, Hawkwood used to hire his soldiers to princes who were willing to pay the high price he demanded. I In n t ti imme es s o of f peace, when business was bad, Hawkwood
5、 and his men would march into a city-state and, after b bu ur rn ni in ng g d do ow wn n a few farms, would o of ff fe er r t to o go away if protection money was paid to them. Hawkwood mma ad de e l la ar rg ge e s su umms s o of f mmo on ne ey y in this way. I In n s sp pi it te e o of f t th hi i
6、s s, the Italians regarded him as a sort of hero. When he died a at t t th he e a ag ge e o of f eighty, the Florentines gave him a state funeral and had a pictured painted which was dedicated t to o t th he e mme emmo or ry y o of f the most valiant soldier and most notable leader, Signor Giovanni
7、Haukodue. 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“。 如果交款不及时,歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商 店,让他破产.榨取“保护金“并不是一种现代的罪恶行径.早在 14 世纪,英国人约翰.霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现:“人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不 愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手. 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,很快就出了名.意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托.每次意大 利各城邦之间发生战争,霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。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,纵火 烧毁一两个农场,然后提出,
8、如向他们缴纳保护金,他们便主动撤离。 霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱.尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英 雄。他 80 岁那年死去时,佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,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.“ Lesson 17 The longest suspension bridge in the world 世界上最长的吊桥世界上最长的吊桥 Verrazano, an Italian about whom little is known, sailed into New York Harbour in 1524 and named it Angouleme. He
9、described it as a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river. Though Verrazano is b by y n no o mme ea an ns s considered to be a great explorer, his name will probably remain immortal, for on November 21st, 1964, the longest suspension bridge
10、in the world was n na amme ed d a af ft te er r him. The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joins Brooklyn to Staten Island. It has a span of 4,260 feet. The bridge is so long that the shape of the earth had to be t ta ak ke en n i in nt to o a ac cc co ou un nt t by its designer
11、. Two great towers support four huge cables. The towers are built on immense underwater platforms mma ad de e o of f steel and concrete. The platforms e ex xt te en nd d t to o a depth of over 100 feet under the sea. These alone took sixteen months to build. Above the surface of the water, the tower
12、s r ri is se e t to o a height of nearly 700 feet. They support the cables from which the bridge has been suspended. E Ea ac ch h o of f the four cables contains 26,108 lengths of wire. It has been estimated that if the bridge were p pa ac ck ke ed d w wi it th h cars, it would still only be carryin
13、g a third of its total capacity. However, size and strength are not the only important things about this bridge. Despite its immensity, it is both simple and elegant, fulfilling its designers dream to create an enormous object drawn as faintly as possible. 1524 年，一位鲜为人知的意大利人维拉萨诺驾船驶进纽约港，并将该港名为安古拉姆。他对
14、该港作了这样的描述：地理位置十分适 宜，位于两座小山的中间，一条大河从中间流过。虽然维拉萨诺绝对算不上一个伟大的探险家，但他的名字将流芳百世，因为 1964 年 11 月 21 日建成的一座世界上最长的吊桥是以他的名字命名。 维拉萨诺大桥由奥斯马.阿曼设计，连结着布鲁克林与斯塔顿岛，桥长 4,260 英尺。由于桥身太长，设计者不得不考虑了地表的形状。 两座巨塔支撑着 4 根粗大的钢缆。塔身建在巨大的水下钢盘混凝土平台上。平台深入海底 100 英尺。仅这两座塔就花了 16 个月才建成。 塔身高出水面将近 700 英尺。高塔支撑着钢缆，而钢缆又悬吊着大桥，4 根钢缆中的每根由 26，108 股钢绳
15、组成。据估计，若桥上摆满了 汽车，也只不过是桥的总承载力的 1/3。然而，这座桥重要特点不仅是它的规模与强度。尽管此桥很大，但它的结构简单，造型优美，实 现了设计者企图创造一个尽量用细线条勾画出一个庞然大物的梦想。 Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza 丹尼尔丹尼尔.门多萨门多萨 Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers f fo ou ug gh ht t w wi it th h bare fists for p pr ri iz ze e m
16、mo on ne ey y. Because of this, they were k kn no ow wn n a as s prize-fighters. However, boxing was very crude, for there were no rules and a prize-fighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match. One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born
17、in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry d dr re ew w u up p the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prize-fighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prize-fighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. I In n h hi is s d da ay
18、y, Mendoza e en nj jo oy ye ed d t tr re emme en nd do ou us s p po op pu ul la ar ri it ty y. He was adored by rich and poor alike. 精选新概念必背优秀文章 36 篇 2 Mendoza r ro os se e t to o f fa amme e swiftly after a boxing-match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Hu
19、mphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He o of ff fe er re ed d t to o train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries t tu ur rn ne ed d a ag ga ai in ns st t him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that
20、the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries i in n t th he e r ri in ng g on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until
21、 his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils. He e ea ar rn ne ed d e en no or rmmo ou us s s su umms s o of f mmo on ne ey y and was paid a as s m mu uc ch h a a
22、s s 100 pounds for a single appearance. Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died i in n p po ov ve er rt ty y in 1836. 两百年前，拳击比赛在英国非常盛行。当时，拳击手们不戴手套，为争夺奖金而搏斗。因此，他们被称作职业拳击手。不过，拳击 是十分野蛮的，因为当时没有任何比赛规则，职业拳击手有可能在比赛中受重伤，甚至丧命。 拳击史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼尔.门多萨，他生于 1764 年。1860 年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次为拳击比赛制定了规则，拳击比赛这 才用上了手套。虽然门多萨严格来讲不过是个职业拳击手，但在把这种粗野的拳击变成一种体育运动方面，他作出了重大贡献。是他把科 学引进了这项运动。门多萨在他的全盛时期深受大家欢迎，无论是富人还是穷人都
