双语有声阅读：本杰明·富兰克林

Franklin’s life is full of charming stories which all young men should know how he peddled¹ ballads³ in Boston, and stood as 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 princes, and received his friendsin a palace; how he raised a kite from a cow shed, and was showered with all the high degrees the collegesof 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.

 

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 “DoctorFranklin”, philosopher, patriot⁷, scientist, philanthropist and statesman. Self made, self taught, and self reared, the candle maker’s son gave light to all the world; the street ballad² seller set all men singing of liberty; the runaway⁸ apprentice became the most sought after man of two continents, and brought his native land to praise and honor him.

 

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 honored him while living, so the Republic glorifies¹⁰ him when dead, and has enshrined him in the choicest of its niches¹¹, the one he regarded as the loftiest thehearts of the common people, from whom he had sprung and in their hearts Franklin will live forever.

 

富兰克林的一生充满了令人着迷的故事，所有的年轻人都应该知道:他怎样在波士顿街头叫卖叙事歌谣唱本，而后来却成为欧洲各国君主的贵客;他怎样偷偷上船,在船上靠干活抵偿船票才来到费城，而后来却坐进了法国王后的乘舆；他怎样在费城沿街瞎逛，无家可归，没人理眯，仅买得起三便士的面包卷 (卷饼）当早饭，而后来却在君王的餐桌前进餐，在宫殿里接待朋友;他如何从牛棚上放起风筝，而后来却荣获世界上多所名牌 大学所能授予的一切最高学位；他在童年时如何被一个虚假的朋友所蒙骗，而后来却成为全人类的朋友;他如何被授予少将军衔，但是他却辞职不千，因为他说他没有军人气度，然而就是他 帮助组建了同训练有素的英德联军对阵的联邦军队。

 

这个波士顿的穷孩子几乎没有上过一天学，后来却掌握了六种语言，并且学习锲而不舍。这个被人忽视的学徒制服了闪电，扬名天下，获得了东西两半球各国大学的学位和证书，成为留芳百世的"富兰克林博士”、哲学家、爱国者、科学家、慈善家和政治家。这个蜡烛制造商的儿子自我奋斗、自学成才、自强自立，给全世界带来了光明；这个叙事歌谣唱本的街头叫卖者让全人类唱起了自由之歌；这个逃亡的学徒成了欧、美两块大陆最令人仰慕的人物，使他的祖国对他赞扬不已、崇敬备至。

 

他缔造了美国，因为我们的共和国能有今天，在很大程度上归功子本杰明•富兰克林的深谋远虑、远见卓识、治国之术、进取精神、大睿大智和精明能干。他厲干全世界，但是他更属于美国。他在世时，各国人民尊敬他,他去世后，共和国同样颂扬他，把他尊奉在最珍贵的壁龛里--个他视为最崇高的位置——普通老百姓的心中。富兰克林来自于人民，他也将永远活人民的心中。

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 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。

3 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。

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。

11 niches   

壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）

参考例句：

• Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
• In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。