I was born at Geneva, in 1712, son of Isaac Rousseau and Susannah Bernard,citizens. My father's share of a moderate competency, which was divided among fifteenchildren, being very trivial, his business of a watchmaker (in which he had the reputa-tion of great ingenuity) was his only dependence. My mother's circumstances weremore affluent; she was daughter of a Mons. Bernard, minister, and possessed a consid-erable share of modesty and beauty; indeed, my father found some difficulty in obtain-ing her hand.
The affection they entertained for each other was almost as early as their existence;at eight or nine years old they walked together every evening on the banks of theTreille, and before they were ten, could not support the idea of separation. A naturalsympathy of soul confined those sentiments of predilection which habit at firstproduced; born with minds susceptible of the most exquisit sensibility andtenderness, it was only necessary to encounter similar dispositions; that moment fortu-nately presented itself, and each surrendered a willing heart. The obstacles that op-posed served only to give a degree of vivacity to their affection, and the young lover,not being able to obtain his mistress, was overwhelmed with sorrow and despair. Sheadvised him to travel —— to forget her. He consented —— he traveled but returned morepassionate than ever, and had the happiness to find her equally constant, equallytender. After this proof of mutual affection, what could they resolve? —— to dedicatetheir future lives to love! The resolution was ratified with a vow, on which Heaven shedits benediction. 世界文学名著足人类历史长河中一份珍贵的文化遗产,是人类文明的共同财富,其闪耀的光芑犹如沙中的金子,历经尘世的磨练、岁月的洗礼,至今仍然熠熠乍辉,滋养着当今读者的灵魂。但是,浩如烟海的世界文学名著,仿佛又像一颗颗散落沙滩的珠贝,想要-一拾起,恐怕穷尽一牛也难办到。尤其是在这日新月异的今世,一杯香茗、一本名著的恬静仿佛已成为人们梦中的**。
《英语学习必读名著》,里的每一篇作品,都像一只只小船,**着读者驶向原作的海洋。在这里,你会感受到名著的力量原来竟如此震撼!这里既有影响人类历史进程的《物种起源》,又有《老人与海》式的生命礼赞;既有《荆棘鸟》里痛彻心扉的真爱,又有滴血的《红字》带来的人性救赎;既有战争肆虐的棉花地里《飘》来的美国风情,又有爱尔兰高地上世代吟唱的玫瑰爱人;既有爵士时代《了不起的盖茨比》,义有剌穿财富面纱的《富爸爸,穷爸爸》;既有《绿野仙踪》里的童真童趣,又有《沉默的羔羊》里的异度惊悚。
需要指明的是,名著并不完全等同于经典,我们在感悟经典作品的凝练时,也需要关注时下的流行元素。因此我们精心遴选出读者朋友喜欢的、富有时代气息的、贴近生活的文学作品,如科幻小说、儿童文学作品、财富励志小说等。这样,本书便具有了经典性、时代性、流行性等诸多特征,相信定会成为大家认同并喜欢的一套丛书。
还需指出的是,对于广大英语学习的爱好者来说,本书无疑在亲近名著的同时,大大丰富了读者的英语语言阅读素材,使读者在感受名著风貌的同时,领略到名著原汁原味的魅力,于无形中提高了自己的英语语言运用能力。尤其是其独具匠心的体例编排,读者在英语学习方面定会受益匪浅。本书在编排上分为上、下两册,每册书里都包含10个章节,每个章节中精选的5篇名著都包括以下几个部分:引言、作者简介、名著原文节选、语言特点点评、难词积累以及名著内容简介等。其中,引言、名著原文节选和词汇积累部分都提供了英汉两种版本。这样,一方面给读者提供了便捷的帮助,使其形成开放的品读鉴赏空间,另一方面又使得名著阅读成为一个愉快的英语学习之旅。
热爱英语的朋友,渴望名著的读者,希望本书能**着你穿越历史时空,步入世界文学的**,去和伟大的灵魂进行心灵的碰撞。