《雙城記》是英國(guó)作家查爾斯·狄更斯所著的一部長(zhǎng)篇?dú)v史小說，以法國(guó)大革命為背景，將巴黎、倫敦兩個(gè)大城市連結(jié)起來，是為“雙城”。
談起狄更斯，沒有人會(huì)忘記《雙城記》；就像提起《雙城記》，沒有人會(huì)忘記它的開篇。開篇經(jīng)得起推敲和思考，因此成就經(jīng)典。這種辯證的思考寫出了狄更斯對(duì)那個(gè)時(shí)代的注解，從中得出大多數(shù)的事情都有兩面性，而放到任何一個(gè)時(shí)代，皆可成立。
或許無法全部背誦下來，但總會(huì)說一句“那是最好的時(shí)代，那是最壞的時(shí)代。”，沒有一個(gè)時(shí)代不是如此。這種對(duì)比手法貫穿全文，如
“人們面前什么都有，人們面前一無所有。”
“同樣的家庭出身，有人善良，有人殘忍；同一個(gè)國(guó)度里，有人驕奢淫逸，有人瘦骨嶙峋。”
狄更斯寫了平民的反抗，卻又不完全支持這種反抗，暴政殘酷，但過于極端的暴力同樣殘酷。只有仇恨和報(bào)復(fù)的社會(huì)已然失控，所有人都一無所有。
小說中馬內(nèi)特醫(yī)生被貴族陷害，女兒露西卻與貴族的兒子相愛，醫(yī)生接受了這個(gè)事實(shí)，但阻止不了其他人對(duì)貴族的仇恨。最后深愛露西的卡頓為了露西的幸福代替查爾斯走上了斷頭臺(tái)……狄更斯在那個(gè)殘忍的時(shí)代留了一絲浪漫和希望，有一個(gè)人，為了保全所愛之人的幸福，愿意犧牲自己的生命。
每次讀都有種“塞翁失馬”的感覺，如《老子》所言：禍兮,福之所倚;福兮,禍之所伏。今天，一同重溫開篇。
A Tale of Two Cities
《雙城記》
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age offoolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
那是最美好的時(shí)代，那是最糟糕的時(shí)代；那是智慧的年頭，那是愚昧的年頭；那是信仰的時(shí)期，那是懷疑的時(shí)期；
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--
那是光明的季節(jié)，那是黑暗的季節(jié)；那是希望的春天，那是失望的冬天；我們?nèi)荚谥北继焯茫覀內(nèi)荚谥北嫉鬲z--
in short, the period was so. far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
簡(jiǎn)而言之，那時(shí)跟現(xiàn)在非常相象，某些最喧囂的權(quán)威堅(jiān)持要用最高級(jí)來形容它。說它好，是最高級(jí)的；說它不好，也是最高級(jí)的。
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France.
英格蘭寶座上有一個(gè)大下巴的國(guó)王和一個(gè)面貌平庸的王后；法蘭西寶座上有一個(gè)大下巴的國(guó)王和一個(gè)面貌姣好的王后。
In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.
對(duì)兩國(guó)支配著國(guó)家全部財(cái)富的老爺來說，國(guó)家大局足以萬歲千秋乃是比水晶還清楚的事。
掌握詞匯：
epoch 時(shí)期
incredulity 不相信
despair 絕望
authority 權(quán)威
superlative 極佳的，卓越的
throne 王位，寶座
loaves and fishes 物質(zhì)利益，私利
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