1. a mysterious SHAPE-SHIFTER who kept BUMPING INTO the 20th century’s biggest figures.
one that seems able to change form or identity at will
to encounter especially by chance
2. During the BOOTLEGGING years,
非法制造或贩卖
3. the two cities’ respective KINGPINS
4. When the mob MUSCLED IN ON the movie business, Rosselli was in Hollywood to keep the unions UNDER MAFIA CONTROL; but he also found time to romance Jean Harlow, a STARLET; to DINE OUT WITH Harry Cohn, a studio boss; and to CLINK COCKTAIL GLASSES with Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan.
侵入；碰杯
5. he schmoozed /ʃmuːz/ Frank Sinatra and negotiated with Howard Hughes.
schmooze (with) somebody (informal) to talk in an informal and friendly way with somebody, especially in order to gain an advantage by persuading people to like you and do what you want
6. CIA HATCHED A PLAN to ASSASSINATE Fidel Castro,
7. to MAKE THE ARRANGEMENTS.
8. Rosselli LIVED OUT a quintessentially /ˌkwɪntɪˈsenʃəli/ American success story.
活出；in a way that represents the perfect example of something
9. PROFESSED TO have come from Chicago.
10. he JOINED his father in Boston, but, as Mr Server points out, the country was “a TRICKY place” for immigrants.
11. The teenage Sacco’s DRIFT INTO CRIME was perfectly timed.
陷入犯罪
12. PROHIBITION became law in 1920, TURNING PETTY CROOKS INTO TYCOONS.
禁酒令；骗子；大鳄；
13. Previously LAW-ABIDING citizens handed their money to RACKETEERS [ˌrækəˈtɪə(r)], the racketeers used it to build empires, and those empires LASTED LONG AFTER the Eighteenth Amendment was REPEALED in 1933.
干非法勾当者；撤销；
14. BY THAT STAGE, Rosselli was a FIXTURE AMONG THE HOODS. 头巾
15. he ran SHIPBOARD CASINOS that GOT AROUND gambling and drinking RESTRICTIONS by FERRYING their glamorous CLIENTELE OUT TO international waters.
[ˌkli:ənˈtel] 顾客
16. He was personable（英俊的）, intelligent and discreet enough, as well as sufficiently handsome, to become the confidant of gangsters and celebrities
17. Written in the SNAPPY STYLE of a HARDBOILED detective novel,
clever or amusing and short； ['hɑ:dbɔɪld] 不动感情的
18. 500-page TOME
a large heavy book, especially one dealing with a serious topic
19. in-depth history of the growth, development and eventual decline of organised crime in America.
20. The author argues that without the mobsters, America might have DONE A LOT LESS GROWING AND DEVELOPING ITSELF.
21. According to this TELLING, NOTHING MUCH happened in the middle decades of the last century WITHOUT CROOKS FACILITATING OR PROFITING FROM IT,
22. Rosselli was usually ON HAND to GREASE THE WHEELS.
23. CASH ASIDE, what did he get out of it all?
24. he was a GO-BETWEEN, a fixer and a TROUBLESHOOTER: a supporting character in the SAGAS of underworld godfathers and Hollywood MOGULS.
an intermediate agent; /ˈsɑːɡə/一连串的事件（或经历）; ['məʊɡlz]大亨
25. It is not clear whether he had any dreams of his own BEYOND keeping the money flowing.
26. This Zelig-like slipperiness, which KEPT HIM IN FAVOUR AND OUT OF PRISON for many years, makes it possible to enjoy his colourful biography without ever quite getting to know him.
Designating a person who is able to change his or her appearance, behaviour, attitudes, etc., so as to be appropriate in any circumstance