练习材料：

L14(1)：A noble gangster

There was a time when the owners of shops and businesses in Chicago that 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.

ðeə wɒz ə taɪm wɛn ði ˈəʊnəz ɒv ʃɒps ænd ˈbɪznɪsɪz ɪn ʃɪˈkɑːgəʊ ðæt tuː peɪ lɑːʤ sʌmz ɒv ˈmʌni tuː ˈgæŋstəz ɪn rɪˈtɜːn fɔː prəˈtɛkʃən.' ɪf ðə ˈmʌni wɒz nɒt peɪd ˈprɒmptli, ðə ˈgæŋstəz wʊd ˈkwɪkli pʊt ə mæn aʊt ɒv ˈbɪznɪs baɪ dɪsˈtrɔɪɪŋ hɪz ʃɒp. əbˈteɪnɪŋ prəˈtɛkʃən ˈmʌni ɪz nɒt ə ˈmɒdən kraɪm. æz lɒŋ əˈgəʊ æz ðə ˈfɔːˈtiːnθ ˈsɛnʧʊri, ən ˈɪŋglɪʃmən, sɜː ʤɒn Hawkwood, meɪd ðə rɪˈmɑːkəbl dɪsˈkʌvəri ðæt ˈpiːpl wʊd ˈrɑːðə peɪ lɑːʤ sʌmz ɒv ˈmʌni ðæn hæv ðeə laɪf wɜːk dɪsˈtrɔɪd baɪ ˈgæŋstəz.

任务配置：

L0＋L4

知识笔记：

新词：noble 高尚的，贵族的；gangster 流氓，歹徒；Chicago 芝加哥；promptly 迅捷地，立即地；obtain 得到；remarkable 显著的，异常的，引人瞩目的；

句法：there was a time 曾经有一段时间；would rather…than 与其…不如…

词组：in return for 作为…的回报；put someone out of business 让某人无法再从商；

练习感悟：

吸收了几个很喜欢的句法，还有词组也是含金量比较高的、不学习就完全一抹黑的……今天的时间在白天，会稍稍充裕一点，最重要的还是精神状态不疲劳，比较好。