【正文】 would then have asked us about ourselves, drawn us out, and sent us away with some good advice, a handshake, and a smile. How does one characterize Benjamin Franklin? Journalist, scientist, educator, politician, writer, administrator, philosopher he truly seemed to be able to do almost everything. His acplishments and the talents and interests which he displayed during the course of his long life 1706 to 1790 have caused him to be called both “the first American” and “the last universal man”. 我們?nèi)绾蝸砻枋龈惶m克林呢？記者、科學(xué)家、教育家、作家、管理專家、哲學(xué)家 ——他似乎真的是無所不能。在他漫長的生命歷程中（ 17061790年），他取得的成就和展現(xiàn)出的非凡才能和廣泛興趣，使他贏得了“美國第一人”和“最后一個通人”的稱號。 Historian Samuel Elitot Morison gives this view of the man: “Franklin?s secret, the thing that ?made him tick? and pulled every aspect of his mind together, was his love of people. He talked with English and French statesmen as an equal。 he was as homely and fortable as an old shoe.” Morison even speculated that if we had been alive in 1776 and had made a call upon Benjamin Franklin, he would have made us feel at home. He would have asked us about ourselves, drawn us out, and sent us away with some good advice, a handshake, and a smile. 歷史學(xué)家薩繆爾 埃利特 莫里森這樣評價富蘭克林：“富蘭克林成功的秘密 ——令他如此具有活力并將他的心智的各個方面聚集在一起的東西 ——是他對人民的熱愛。他以平等的身份與英國和法國的政治家交談；他就像一只穿舊的鞋子，讓人感到普通而舒適?！蹦锷踔镣茢?，如果我們生活在 1776年，并且登門拜訪本杰明 富蘭克林，他會讓我們感到賓至如歸。他會問問我們的情況，鼓勵我們，臨別時還會給我們一些忠告，微笑著和我們道別。 泰坦尼克號 After resting on the ocean floor, split asunder and rusting, for nearly threequarters of a century, a great ship seemed to e alive again. The saga of the White Star liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, carrying more than 1 500 passengers to their deaths, has been celebrated in print and on film, in poetry and song. But last week what had been legendary suddenly became real. As they viewed videotapes and photographs of the sunken leviathan, millions of people around the world could sense her mass, her eerie quiet and the ruined splendor of a lost age. Watching on television, they vicariously joined the undersea craft Alvin and Jason Jr. as they toured the wreckage of the luxury liner, wandering across the decks past corroded bollards, peering into the officer?s quarters and through rustcurtained portholes. Views of the railings where doomed passengers and crew members stood evoked images of the moonless night 74 years ago when the great ship slipped beneath the waves. After resting on the ocean floor, split asunder and rusting, for nearly threequarters of a century, a great ship seemed to e alive again. The saga of the White Star liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, carrying more than 1 500 passengers to their deaths, has been celebrated in print and on film, in poetry and song. But last week what had been legendary suddenly became real. As they viewed videotapes and photographs of the sunken leviathan, millions of people around the world could sense her mass, her eerie quiet and the ruined splendor of a lost age. 一艘巨輪在碰撞斷裂沉入海底銹蝕達(dá)四分之三個世紀(jì)之后，似乎又恢復(fù)了生機。白星公司的班輪泰坦尼克號在 1912年處女航中因撞上了冰山而沉沒，船上 1500多名乘客遇難。此后關(guān)于她的種種傳說便在各種刊物、電影以及詩歌、歌曲中廣為流傳。但是上星期這類傳說突然間變成了現(xiàn)實。當(dāng)世界上千百萬人觀看這艘巨輪的錄像和照片時， 他們都能體會到那艘船巨大的體積，感受到他可怕的靜寂，領(lǐng)略到過去一個時代的輝煌業(yè)績被毀壞后的景象。 Watching on television, they vicariously joined the undersea craft Alvin and Jason Jr. as they toured the wreckage of the luxury liner, wandering across the decks past corroded bollards, peering into the officer?s quarters and through rustcurtained portholes. Views of the railings where doomed passengers and crew members stood evoked images of the moonless night 74 years ago when the great ship slipped beneath the waves. 電視觀眾們似乎身臨其境跟著 潛水船阿爾文號和機器人探測器小賈森號 一起巡視這艘豪華巨輪的殘?。阂黄鹇郊装?，越過已被銹蝕的系船柱，凝視高級船員的住艙，透過掛滿鐵銹的舷窗往里看。見到船上的那些欄桿會讓人想起 74年前巨輪沉入水中的那個 月黑之夜 的景象，當(dāng)時那些即將遇難的乘客和船員也曾站在這些欄桿旁。