水言

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.

这是最好的时代，这是最坏的时代，

这是智慧的时代，这是愚蠢的时代；

这是信仰的时期，这是怀疑的时期；

这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节；

这是希望之春，这是失望之冬；

人们面前有着各样事物，人们面前一无所有；

人们正在直登天堂；人们正在直下地狱。

— 总之，那时跟现在非常相象，某些最喧嚣的权威坚持要用形容词的最高级来形容它。说它好，是最高级的；说它不好，也是最高级的。

——狄更斯