本傑明·富蘭克林 / Benjamin Franklin
本傑明·富蘭克林（1706—1790），18世紀美國最偉大的科學家、著名的政治家和文學家。他生於波士頓，幼年家境貧窮，一生隻受過兩年正式教育。1726年，他出版了《窮查理曆書》，當時被譯成12種文字，暢銷歐美各國，也奠定了他在文學上的地位。獨立戰爭爆發後，他參加了第二屆大陸會議和《獨立宣言》的起草工作。
Practicing for Better Learning
Listen to the following article twice, and fill in the blanks with appropriate words.
2.If time be of all things the most ________, wasting time must be, as Poor Richard says, the greatest ________; since, as he elsewhere tells us, lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.
3.Whereas industry gives comfort, and plenty, and respect: fly ________, and they’ll follow you; The ________________ has a large shift; and now I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me ____________; all of which is well said by Poor Richard.
Courteous Reader,
I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure, as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors.This pleasure I have seldom enjoyed; for though I have been, if I may say it without vanity, an eminent author of almanacs annually now a full quarter of a century, my brother authors in the same way, for what reason I know not, have ever been very sparing in their applause, and no other author has taken the least notice of me, so that did not my writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me.
I concluded at length, that the people were the best judges of my merit; for they buy my works; and besides, in my rambles, where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of my adages repeated with “as Poor Richard says” at the end on’t; this gave me some satisfaction, as it showed not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my authority; and I own, that to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those wise sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great gravity.