英语小达人 399 Benjamin Franklin

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　　本杰明·富兰克林

　　Franklin's life is full of charming stories which all young men should know-how¹ he peddled² ballads³ in Boston, and stood, the guest of kings in Europe; how he worked his passage as a stowaway⁴ to Philadelphia, and rode in the queen's own litter in France; how he walked the streets of Philadelphia, homeless and unknown, with three penny rolls for his breakfast, and dined at the tables of princesses, and received his friends in a palace; how he raised a kite from a cow shed, and was showered with all the high degrees the colleges of the world could give; how he was duped by a false friend as a boy, and became the friend of all humanity as a man; how he was made Major General Franklin, only to resign because, as he said, he was no soldier, and yet helped to organize the army that stood before the trained troops of England and Germany.

　　富兰克林的一生充满了迷人的传奇故事，青年人都应当知道：他如何在波士顿街头叫卖民歌唱本，而后来成为欧洲各国君王的宾客；他如何偷偷登船，然后做工抵偿船资才到达费城，而后来在法兰西却坐上了王后的轿子；他如何买了三个便士的面包卷当早饭、，在费城的街巷上走着，举目无亲，无家可归，而后来却成为公主筵席上的常客，并且在宫殿里会见他的朋友；他如何从牛棚放起风筝，而后来却荣获世界各大学所能给予的雪片般飞来的高级学衔；他在儿时如何受一个虚伪的朋友的欺骗，成年后却成为全人类的良友；他如何被任命为富兰克林少将，只因他说他不是军人而辞了职，然而却帮助缔造了那支敢于同训练有素的英德联军抗衡的军队。

　　This poor Boston boy, with scarcely a day's schooling⁵, became master of six languages and never stopped studying; this neglected apprentice⁶ tamed the lightning, made his name famous, received degrees and diplomas from colleges in both hemispheres, and became forever remembered as "Doctor Franklin", Philosopher, patriot⁷, scientist, philanthropist and statesman.

　　这位几乎没有上过一天学的波士顿穷孩子后来精通六种语言，并且从未停止过学习；这位无人注意的学徒制服了闪电，扬名全世界，赢来了东西两半球各大学的学位和证书，成为人们永远铭记的“富兰克林博士”、哲学家、爱国主义者、科学家、慈善家和政治家。

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