Literary Masterpieces Series 5, Part 2

Author: [British] Hardy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: This is a graded reading series of world literary classics published for students whose first language is not English. The series is closely aligned with the requirements of the new "English Curriculum Standards," divided into 8 levels based on difficulty, catering to the reading needs of students at various stages. It helps students achieve the cultivation goals of the new curriculum standards in terms of language skills, language knowledge, learning strategies, and cultural awareness. The series has the following features:
- It includes classic Western literary works, helping students improve their language proficiency while allowing them to glimpse the full picture of literary masterpieces through simplified versions suitable for their foreign language level.
- According to the new curriculum standards, the vocabulary ranges from 150 to 3,500 words, meeting the reading needs of primary and secondary school students.
- The language difficulty progresses gradually, assisting teachers in expanding students' language knowledge and cultural background, and enhancing their English reading skills.
- Levels 1 to 5 include one exercise per page, with a large volume of practice and a rich variety of test formats, which is beneficial for students and teachers to quantitatively assess and evaluate reading ability, serving as an excellent supplement to classroom teaching.
- The language is simple, vivid, and authentic, published with English annotations, preserving the original flavor of English while bilingual annotations (Chinese-English) remove language barriers for readers, fully engaging their interest in reading and making English reading easier.
Thomas Hardy was born in a small village in Dorset, England, in 1840. His childhood was poor, and he worked as an apprentice to an architect for many years. After the success of Tess of the d'Urbervilles in 1874, Hardy went on to create other famous works such as Jude the Obscure, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Tess. He was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey after his death in 1928.
This book tells the story of a woman and three men entangled in love. The young and beautiful Bathsheba Everdene comes to Weatherbury to inherit her uncle's farm. Gabriel Oak, loyal and capable, falls in love with her at first sight, but his proposal is rejected. Meanwhile, Boldwood also asks Bathsheba to accept his "love." Bathsheba can only delay as much as possible. During Boldwood's temporary absence, the young and handsome officer Frank Troy meets Bathsheba and soon marries her. However, the death of Fanny, a girl who had been abandoned by Troy, is a heavy blow to Bathsheba and Troy's marriage. Troy leaves home, and later news comes that he drowned. When Boldwood learns this, he begins to pursue Bathsheba again. Yet, just as Boldwood is almost certain that Bathsheba will marry him, Troy inexplicably appears at the Christmas party.