English Recitation of Famous Works

Author: He Xiaojia, translated by Wang Zhenzhu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: March 1, 2003
Features: The title of this book is Famous English Poems and Readings, and as the name suggests, the selected passages are all works by renowned authors. To facilitate readers in studying and reciting, the chosen works avoid overly difficult or lengthy pieces, and for longer works, only the most captivating excerpts are selected. Everyone understands the saying, "By familiarizing oneself with a thousand poems of Tang Dynasty, one may not write poetry but will still recite it," but as it is often easier said than done, not many people can actually persist in memorization. As for the reasons, the compilers believe it is multifaceted, with one being that the original texts of some works are too challenging for ordinary readers and too lengthy. Readers often lack sufficient background knowledge and find it cumbersome to frequently consult dictionaries, gradually losing interest. From this perspective, the compilers hope to introduce the essence of English and American literary works to readers through a bilingual (English-Chinese) format. Additionally, in the "Author Profiles" section, brief descriptions of the writers' lives and main works are provided; in the "Notes" section, efforts are made to strike a balance between detail and brevity, especially in explaining polysemous words that are prone to misunderstanding, aiming to the greatest extent possible to assist readers. The arrangement of this book does not follow a chronological order in literary history or categories such as genre or school, but is instead divided into six themes closely related to our lives: Life, Nature, Society, Literature and Art, Emotions, and Motivation.