一个新的时代已在不知不觉中到来。 不知从哪一天起，发现自己已不能也没有时间在某个午后细细翻看经典的莎士比亚抑或是《红楼梦》。 通常只是在平庸的享乐中呆呆地坐着，无所事事，来一片薯片，那味道却让我反胃，听听周杰伦，那歌词却是我从来都听不懂的，屋里呆久了，上街竟有种眩晕的感觉。 突然发现很少有打动人的文章了，过多滥情又华而不实的文字早已在我心灵深处扯开一道口子，没有共鸣，只剩下大片大片的空虚。 不经意间，我看见了《巨人的花园》。五元一本的彩页书，还很新，却便宜得惊人。 不属于时流行的书榜，只属于曾经流光的记忆。——书的扉页上如是写 巨人把自己封闭在高高的围墙之中，他不明白为什么春天不肯光临他的花园，寒风和冰雪在花园中肆虐，任意穿梭……直到有一天，他在鸟语花声中醒来，发现整个花园都活了起来。而每一棵树上都坐着一个小孩，原本在玩耍的他们见到巨人都吓得跑开了去，花园顿时回到冬天。只有一个小男孩没有走，矮小的他没法爬上树正低声啜泣着，巨人将他抱到了树上，忽然这棵树焕发出春天的光彩，小男孩含着泪感激地亲吻了巨人，恍然大悟之余，巨人推倒了花园的围墙，孰不知他的心墙也已瓦解。从此花园中都是孩子们的笑语，巨人看着他们心里暖和极了，但那个小男孩却再也没来过，所有孩子中巨人最喜欢他了，因为只有他曾吻过自己，可没有一个人知道他的下落，孩子换了一批又一批，巨人也渐渐老去。又是一个冬天的早晨，巨人终于见到了那个孩子，他来邀请巨人去他的花园。第二天，孩子们发现巨人睡在了花园中，身上盖满了花瓣，脸上挂着幸福的笑容…… 王尔德安静地来到我面前，讲述着巨人花园的故事，讲述着寓言和童话，欢笑和泪水，娓娓不绝。那时候的爱与美是清澈见底的，是缓慢的，缺少舞曲和RAP节奏。然而这些曾经陪伴我童年记忆的美纶美奂的童话已随着年代的更替而渐渐湮没，脑海里零星的碎片再也组不成完整的故事。 很多事情经历过，却忘却；感动过，却又抛弃。而我们正在经历的，是梦想的消散与平庸化，是虚荣心和欲望的互相攀比。文化娱乐化，历史虚无化，语言失范化，艺术消费化……正在消解着我们的心灵。在一些城市，栉比鳞次的摩天大楼，趾高气昂的推土机切断了我们和那个纯真年代的联系。今天的小孩在肯德基，指环王，名侦探柯南……的影响下成长。他们几乎与这些美丽的童话无缘。 现代人不但对陌生人疏离冷漠，甚至也忘记了自己的心灵。不知道，在这个冷漠的水泥丛林里，有谁还会想起那巨人花园里的小男孩——那个开启巨人寂寞心窗的天使？ 我想我也许是幸运的，毕竟这些美好的故事曾陪伴我的童年，如今的失而复得成为了我意外的珍宝。 旧的时代总要被新的时代所取代，只是在这其中，我们的心是否依然鲜活？

After reading this story, I have learned the importance of patience. The four sons in that story judge that pear tree superficially. Even though all their statements are right, they are one-sided conclusion. Due to their impatience, they miss the beauty and passion of other seasons.
As we all know, Thomas Edison, the great inventor the world has never seen, would not invent the electric light if he was not patient to do thousands of those boring experiments. So, from this moment on, just be patient to others, and also be patient to yourself.

　　辛巴达和叙拉古国的王子普罗士从小就是好朋友，而且都对海上探险充满神往。长大后各奔前程的两人，一个实现夙愿当上了自由自在的海盗，另一个则成为人民拥戴的王子，之后再也没有联络。
　　做起了海盗的辛巴达天不怕地不怕。一次，他决定去盗取宝物“和平之书”，没想到却发现“和平之书”的主人，竟然是好朋友普罗士。最后，普罗士终于讲明了“和平之书”的重要，也说服了辛巴达放弃盗宝。
　　万万想不到的是，此时的“和平之书”却被邪恶女神爱瑞丝偷走，女妖试图借此毁灭世界。“和平之书”被盗之后，整个“雪城”陷入了一片混乱恐慌之中，矛头纷纷都指向辛巴达。但普罗士相信辛巴达的清白，万般无奈之下，他主动提出以自己生命做抵押，让辛巴达追回宝物“和平之书”。
　　辛巴达只好答应普罗士，前往远海找寻邪恶女神爱瑞丝，夺回“和平之书”，但他心里却盘算着一登上海盗船，就到阳光普照的斐济岛逍遥自在，不理会朋友的生死。但意想不到的是，普罗士的未婚妻玛琳娜,为监视辛巴达也偷偷登上了船。
　　辛巴达在玛琳娜的影响下，终于恢复了正义海盗的勇敢魄力和无畏气概。他率领海盗船员拉起风帆，向邪恶女神的领地进发。一路上他们遭遇了许多恐怖怪物和灾难。击败它们之后，辛巴达还要接受爱瑞丝的考验，只有通过考验才能拿到“和平之书”……
　　神秘岛：故事是描述在美国南北战争的时候，有五个被围困在南军城中的北方人趁着偶然的机会用气球逃脱了。他们中途被风暴吹落在太平洋中的一个荒岛上，但是他们并没有灰心失望，他们团结互助，以集体的智慧和劳动，克服了重重困难，建立起幸福的生活。他们从赤手空拳一直到制造出陶器、玻璃、风磨、电报机……他们挽救了在附近另一孤岛上独居了十二年而失去理智的罪犯（即《格兰特船长的儿女》中被流放的罪犯--艾尔通），使他恢复了人性，成为他们忠实的伙伴。这些荒岛上的遇难者虽然什么也不缺，但是他们并没有放弃返回祖国的努力。一天，他们终于登上了在格兰特船长的儿子罗伯特指挥的邓肯号，重新回到了祖国的环抱。这几个遇难者在荒岛上度过的岁月了，不断发现了不可思议的奇迹。每当他们在危急的时候，似乎总有一个神秘的人在援助他们。原来这人就是《海底两万里》一书中的主人公、潜水船诺第留斯号的发明者、反抗压迫的战士——尼摩船长。
　　Book Description
　　The highest standards in editing and production have been applied to the Wordsworth Children's Classics, while the low price makes them affordable for everyone. Wordsworth's list covers a range of the best-loved stories for children, from nursery tales, classic fables, and fairy tales to stories that will appeal to older children and adults alike. Many of these volumes have contemporary illustrations, and while they are ideal for shared family reading, their attractive format will also encourage children to read for themselves. Like all Wordsworth Editions, these children's books represent unbeatable value.
　　Set in Scotland in 1751, "Kidnapped" tells of how young David Balfour, orphaned, and betrayed by his uncle Ebenezer who should have been his guardian, falls in with Alan Breck, the unscrupulous but heroic champion of the Jacobite cause.
　　From School Library Journal
　　Grade 6 Up-Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson remains one of the classic coming-of-age stories for children and young adults today. After the death of his father, David Balfour sets out to meet his uncle and claim his inheritance. This adventure takes him through the highlands of Scotland where he embarks upon a long journey back from treachery and deceit. The reading by David Rintoul, whose voice is easily recognizable from his roles in several PBS productions such as Pride and Prejudice, translates the written word into an auditory landscape of Scotland. He interprets each character using several voices. As the story progresses, listeners can hear David changing from an uncertain and hesitant youth, to the assured and forthright young man he becomes at the conclusion. Without any special effects, the fight among the crew of the Coventry in the RoundhouseAchairs pushed over, the sounds of the sea hitting against the great shipAbecomes easily visualized. the reader's skill setting the stage and showing the growth of the character is phenomenal. While this is an abridgement, the story flows easily and gives a full picture from beginning to end. This audiobook is a wonderful way to introduce this style of literature to young readers who may feel inhibited by reading the language of Stevenson. Whether read for enjoyment or to enrich the learning experience, this is a must for every serious library collection of the classics.
　　Tina Hudak, Takoma Park Maryland Library, MD
　　From Library Journal
　　Editor Menikoff insists that Stevenson's novel has been unfairly relegated to young adult fiction. To remedy that, he restored the text to its original form, reinstating deleted passages and Stevenson's original punctuation. The text is buttressed with 19th-century drawings from the book's serializations and an introduction that explains the book's nexus and puts it into its Scottish cultural context. (Classic Returns, LJ 5/15/99)
　　From AudioFile
　　From beginning to end, reader David Rintoul, who portrays David Balfor, carries the listener along with his lyrical Scottish accent and suspenseful schemes involving Uncle Ebenezer. The listener submerges himself in the intense plot as Balfor attempts to reclaim his stolen inheritance from his uncle. Rintoul's accent accommodates both Highlanders and Lowlanders, bringing each to life as the author intended. Well-balanced dialogue and narration, along with intelligible accents, lend authenticity to this story. A refreshing listen for any who like to revisit the classics or who have difficulty with the original language. G.D.W.
　　About Author
　　Barry Menikoff is professor of English and American literature at the University of Hawaii and one of the world's leading authorities on Robert Louis Stevenson. He has previously published Robert Louis Stevenson and "The Beach of Falesa" and a collection of Stevenson's shorter fiction, Tales from the Prince of Storytellers.
　　慕理小镇
　　Moonfleet
　　by John Meade Falkner
　　"Moonfleet" (1898) begins as a mystery and an adventure story, a tale of smuggling set among the cliffs, caves, and downs of Dorset. What will be the outcome of the conflict between smugglers and revenue men? How can the hero, John Trenchard, discover the secret of Colonel John Mohune's treasure? As the book progresses these two interwoven themes resolve themselves into a third and richer one, with the friendship and suffering of both John Trenchard and the craggy, taciturn Elzevir Block. Falkner's feeling for history and for the landscape of his Dorset setting combine with his gift for storytelling to turn Moonfleet into a historical romance of moving intensity.