雙城記－查理．狄更斯

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它是最好的時代，也是最壞的時代；
是智慧的時代，也是愚蠢的時代；
是信仰的時代，也是懷疑的時代；
是光明的季節，也是黑暗的季節；
是充滿希望的春天，也是令人絕望的冬天；
我們的前途擁有一切，我們的前途一無所有；
我們正走向天堂，我們也走向地獄─
總之，那個時代和現在是如此的相像，
以至於它最喧鬧的一些專家，不論說好說壞，
都堅持只能用最高級的形容詞來描述它。

IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
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- 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.