第三册第7篇：本杰明.富兰克林

7. Benjamin Franklin 本杰明.富兰克林



Franklin’s life is full of charming stories which all young men should know----how he peddled 1 ballads 2 in Boston, and stood, the guest of kings, in Europe; how he worked his passage as a stowaway 4 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 princess, 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.

富兰克林的一生允满了迷人的传奇故事，青年人都应该知道:他如何在波士顿街道上叫卖民歌唱本，而后来又成为欧洲各国君土的宾客;他如何逃票登船，然后靠做工抵偿船资才到达赞城，后来在法兰西却坐上了土后的轿子;他如何买三个便士的面包卷当早饭，在费城的街道上流浪，举口无亲，无家可归。后来却成为公土筵席上的常客，并且在宫殿里会见他的朋友;他如何从牛棚放起风筝，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;他在儿时如何被一个虚伪的朋友所欺骗，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，但他仅是说他不是军人就辞了职，然而却又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 schooling 5, became master of six languages and never stopped studying; this neglected apprentice 6 tamed the lightning, made his name famous, received degrees and diplomas from colleges in both hemispheres, and became forever remembered as “Doctor Franklin”, philosopher, patriot 7, scientist, philanthropist and statesman.

这位贫穷的波士顿孩子，几乎没有受过一天的正式教育，后来却掌握了六种语言，而且从来没有中断过学习。这位被人忽视的学徒却驯服了闪电，从而名扬天下，荣获了东西两半球许多大学的学位和证书，并成为永远被人们铭记的哲学家、爱国者、科学家、慈善家和政治家：“富兰克林博士”。



Self-made and self-taught, and self-reared, the candle maker’s son gave light to all the world; the street ballad 3 seller set all men singing of liberty; the runaway 8 apprentice became the most soughtafter man of two continents, and brought his native land to praise and honour him.

这位蜡烛制造商的儿子，自强不息，自食其力，自学成才，给全世界带来了光明;这位民谣歌本的街头叫卖者使所有的人唱起了自由之歌;这位逃跑的学徒成了欧美两大陆最为人渴慕求见的人，赢得了祖国的赞美和敬仰。



He built America,----for what our Republic is today is largely due to the prudence 9, the forethought, the statesmanship, the enterprise, the wisdom, and the ability of Benjamin Franklin. He belongs to the world, but especially does he belong to America. As the nations honoured him while living, so the Republic glorifies 10 him when dead, and has enshrined him in the choicest of its niches----the one he regarded as the loftiest the hearts of the common people．from whom he had sprung and in their hearts Franklin will live forever．

他缔造了美国—我们共和国能有今日，很大程度上是归功于他的深思熟虑、他的远见卓识、他的治国之术、他的进取精神、他的智慧和才干。他属于全世界，但是，他侍别属于美国。生前，各国人民崇敬他;死后，共和国同样赞扬褒奖他，把他安置于最为珍贵的壁会中一一一个他视为最最神圣的壁会一一普通人的心中，因为他来自人民;富兰克林将永远活在人民的心中。