A Tale of Two Cities (excerpt)

狄更斯在《双城记》一书的开头就说， “这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代” 。妙哉斯言！这段文字中多个平行句所表达的希望与绝望、光明与黑暗、理想与现实一直深深地打动读者。文中句型的反复、形式上的对偶、内容上的对比、总体结构上的平行（排比） ，都值得我们细细体味。

 

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.　
——　 Charles Dickens　　

[注释]：
wisdom: a wise outlook, plan, or course of action 智慧，明智的行为，学识　
epoch: a particular period of history, especially one considered remarkable or noteworthy age, era,
period 新纪元，时代，时期　
incredulity: the state or quality of being incredulous; disbelief 怀疑　
despair: to lose all hope 绝望，失望　
　
查尔斯·狄更斯（1812—1870） ，英国大名鼎鼎的作家，是 19 世纪英国现实主义文学的主要代表。他笔耕一生，靠勤奋和汗水创作出《大卫·科波菲尔》 、《双城记》等世界名著。他的作品以妙趣横生的幽默、细致入微的心理分析以及现实主义描写与浪漫主义气氛的有机结合而著称。