Franklin and Franklin impersonator

Every nation has its heroes, of course, If a nation is lucky, it has one who was so able in everything he or she did that the person's legacy¹ stretches in many directions. Michelangelo comes to mind. Well, America has been fortunate in this respect, too.

每个国家自然都有自己的英雄。如果一个国家运气好，它就会有一个不论做什么事都有非人才干的英雄，他留下的遗产是多方面的。我们自然会想到米开朗琪罗 。在这方面，美国也很幸运。

Ben Franklin was an inventor not only of things, but of ideas. First some of the things, Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod; he created the first wood stove with a pipe out the back that extended through the wall. You may say: "So what in these days of forced air heating?" But in his time, the Franklin Stove produced far more heat than a fireplace, cost less to operate, was less smoky, and became popular all over the world. Franklin also published America's first magazine and organized its first postal² service and its first lending library.

本·富兰克林是一位发明家，不仅发明东西，而且也发明思想。他发明的东西当中有避雷针；他还创造了第一个木制火炉，从背后通出一根烟囱管子插到墙劈里去。在现在使用暖气的时代，你可能会说：“那又有什么?”可是，在那个时代，富兰克林炉比壁炉发出的热量大得多，费用少，烟也少，因此而流行于全世界。富兰克林还出版了美国第一份杂志，组建了美国第一家邮政局和第一座出借书籍的图书馆。

Ben Franklin was also famous-- still is, 200 some years after his death-- for his witty³ observations, like, "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half--shut afterwards. " Or, "There never was a good war or a bad peace. " Another one: "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. "

本·富兰克林讲话谈谐风趣，他的一些言论在他死后200多年的今天依然十分出名。例如，他说过：“结婚前应该把眼睛睁得大大的；结婚后应该半睁半闭。”“从来没有好战争，也没有坏和平。”还有一句：“在这个世界上，只有死亡和交税是无法避免的。”

But he was much more than just a clever tinker with things and words. This moon" faced, simply dressed, somewhat obese⁴ man- he sometimes called himself "Mr. Fatsides" --was one of those who created the U. S. Declaration of Independence. It was he who put the "self-evident" in its most famous line- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. " And when it appeared that the new United States may not be able to win its war against Britain, it was old Ben then in his 70s, who was dispatched to Paris and talked the French into sending soldiers and ships to help the Americans--help without which America today might well be a member of the British Common wealth. All the while he was in France, it must also be noted⁵, he was pursuing, apparently⁶ with considerable luck, the ladies of King Louis XIV court.

但是，他远不仅只是一个善于摆弄东西和词藻的能工巧匠。这个圆脸、衣着简朴、略肥胖的人——有时候他自称是“胖子先生”——是美国独立宣言的作者之一。就是他在宣言中最著名的一句话里加上了“不言而喻”这几个字。这句话就是：“我们认为下述真理乃是不言而喻的：人人生而平等。”当新诞生的美国看起来可能打不赢这场同英国人的战争时，又是当时已届70高龄的本杰明被派往巴黎。是他说服法国人派来士兵和舶只以援助美国人——如果没有这一援助，今天的美国很可能还是英联邦的一个成员。还应提到，在他出使法国期间，他一直在向路易十四世宫廷里的贵妇们求爱，显然他的运气还很不错呢。

Ben's most enduring legacy, though, is the U. S, Constitution he helped write in Philadelphia in 1787. When the delegates got into wrangles⁷ with one another on how this new kind of government should work, it was Benjamin Franklin who was always there to arrange a compromise.

然而，本杰明·富兰克林所留下来的最持久的遗产是在他协助下于1787年在费城写成的美国宪法。当代表们就这一新型的政府究竟应该怎样工作而互相争论不休时，他总能安排一个折衷的解决方案。

He died at 84 in his beloved Philadelphia.

在他84岁那年，他在所热爱的费城去世。

A couple of centuries ago, no American was better known in Europe than a portly old man who wore his spectacles on the end of this nose. His name was Benjamin Franklin. The story is about a man who has dedicated⁸ his life to keeping Franklin's memory fresh.

200年前，在欧洲最负盛名的美国人莫过于一个眼镜架在鼻尖上的、胖胖的老人了。他的名字叫本杰明·富兰克林。本故事讲的是一个人为使人们对富兰克林的记忆常新而奉献一生的故事。

Ralph Archbold lives in a self-imposed time warp⁹. Sort of. Fifteen years ago, he became fascinated with one of America's founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin, and decided¹⁰ that he' would make his living impersonating him. And he does. The other day I knocked on the door of Mr. Archbold's townhouse in Philadelphia. not far from where Mr. Franklin lived a couple of hundred years ago.

拉尔夫·阿奇博尔德生活在他给自己硬性规定的时间经线里，或多或少是这样的。15年前，他迷上了美国的创始人之一——本杰明·富兰克林，并且决定要以扮演富兰克林为生。现在他就是这样干的。阿奇博尔德先生住在费城一所城市住宅里，离两个世纪前富兰克林先生住的地方不远。

Benjamin Franklin, a scientist of world fame, one of the authors of the U. S. Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, was quite a ladies' man, even when he was in his 80s and that's when he was representing this country in Europe. Ralph Archbold knows every nook and cranny of Franklin's life" knowledge he further authenticates¹¹ by looking like the old gentleman and dressing¹² like him.

本杰明·富兰克林，世界闻名的科学家，美国独立宣言和宪法的作者之一，的确是一个喜欢在女人中混的男人。甚至当他已届80高龄时，也就是在他代表美国出使欧洲期间，也是如此。拉尔夫·阿奇博尔德了解富兰克林一生的每一个细节——他通过使自己的相貌和衣着都同富兰克林一样，以进一步证实他对富兰克林的一生了如指掌。

"I will do 600 performances. Just in schools I will do 400 performances, each one about an hour long. And then with conventions and meetings I am very busy. This is a full-time¹³ career, and it has been for the 15 years. "

“我演出600次以上。仅仅在各个学校里我就要演 出400次，每次1小时。那么还有年会、会议，我很忙。这是个专职工作，15年来一直如此。”

He makes a good living impersonating Franklin" But, there's more to it than that:

他靠扮演富兰克林过着优裕的生活。但是，还不仅如此而已：

"When I can be photographed with someone who will take the photo back and say, 'look, here I am with Ben Franklin, and you know what I found out about him that I didn't know?' that's an exciting outreach. It's exciting for me to realize that from all over the world people come here. they touch the 'Liberty' Bell, and then they might have a chance to meet Ben Franklin. And they have all heard about Ben, and they all love Ben. And that is really exciting. People . . . people really like to talk to Ben Franklin. "

“当我和某人照了一张相，他把相片带回去并对人说：'瞧!这是我和本·富兰克林一起照的。你知道吗，我了解到什么过去不知道的有关他的事?'这样往外一传是很令人兴奋的。我很激动地发现人们从世界各地到这里来，为的是用手摸一摸自由之钟，然后还有机会同本·富兰克林见面。他们都听说过本，都热爱本。这的确让人感到激动。人们……人们确实很愿意同本·富兰克林谈话。”