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 peddled¹ ballads² 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 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 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 ballad³ seller set all men singing of liberty; the runaway⁸ 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 prudence⁹, 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 glorifies¹⁰ 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。

1 peddled   

（沿街）叫卖( peddle的过去式和过去分词 )； 兜售； 宣传； 散播

参考例句：

• He has peddled the myth that he is supporting the local population. 他散布说他支持当地群众。
• The farmer peddled his fruit from house to house. 那个农民挨家挨户兜售他的水果。

2 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

3 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

4 stowaway   

n.（藏于轮船，飞机中的）偷乘者

参考例句：

• The stowaway masqueraded as a crew member.偷渡者假扮成乘务员。
• The crew discovered the stowaway about two days into their voyage.船员在开船约两天后发现了那名偷乘者。

5 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

6 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

7 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

8 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

9 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

10 glorifies   

赞美( glorify的第三人称单数 )； 颂扬； 美化； 使光荣

参考例句：

• He denies that the movie glorifies violence. 他否认这部影片美化暴力。
• This magazine in no way glorifies gangs. 这本杂志绝对没有美化混混们。