双城记是英国作家狄更斯的一部经典小说，其中最著名的一段英文原文是：

'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.'

这一段话以其卓越的文学艺术水平，精练的语言和深刻的思想内涵而被人们广泛传颂。它深刻地反映了当时伦敦的社会现实和人民的生活状况，也是整部小说的精华所在。

整段话运用了对比法，将“最好的时代”与“最糟糕的时代”相对比，将“智慧的时代”与“愚蠢的时代”相对比，将“信仰的时代”与“怀疑的时代”相对比，将“光明的季节”与“黑暗的季节”相对比，将“希望的春天”与“绝望的冬天”相对比。

这一段话表达了作者对当时社会所处的困境的深刻认识，同时也表达了他对人类历史的深刻洞察和对未来的深刻期许。这段话的深刻内涵和精湛的语言艺术成为了英国文学史上的经典之作，也被誉为世界文学宝库中的一颗明珠。