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.

Excerpt from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

参考译文

这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代；这是明智的年代，这是愚昧的年代；这是信任的纪元，这是怀疑的纪元；这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节；这是希望的春日，这是失望的冬日；我们面前应有尽有，我们面前一无所有；我们都将直下地狱……