芭丝谢芭·伊芙丁是一位具有独立意识的女性。在极少妇女拥有自己财产的年代，她却经营着属于自己的农场。三个性格迥异的男人为她倾倒，芭丝谢芭需要在他们之间做出艰难的抉择。

　　“黑猫英语分级读物”由上海外语教育出版社从Black Cat出版社引进。本套读物以经典名著的改编本为主，亦含少量当代原创作品，共96册，规模宏大，体系完备，分级科学，且每一本图书都装帧精良，行文地道，可读性强。
　　“黑猫英语分级读物”根据“扩读”（Expansive Reading）的理念编写而成。“扩读”的理念融“精读”和“泛读”的优点于一体，提倡：将文本作为跳板，助力学生探索语言、文学、文化及其他与文本相关的领域的知识。“扩读”理念与我国最新《英语课程标准》提出的“培养和发展学生的语言能力、文化意识、思维品质和学习能力”的精神相契合。
　　“黑猫英语分级读物”分小学和中学两个学段。
　　小学段读物分A-E 5个级别，每个级别6本，共30本。小学段“黑猫英语分级读物”是绘本，故事以世界儿童喜闻乐见的经典或传统故事为主，也有少量当代原创故事和非虚构类作品；绘本的词汇、句型和语法都被控制在小学生能够掌握的范围内；绘本插图精美，表现力强，有助于小学生充分理解文本；每本绘本末尾都配有符合小学生身心发展的语言活动或游戏。
　　中学段读物分A-F 6个级别，其中A-E 5个级别，每个级别12本，F级6本，共66本。中学段“黑猫英语分级读物”以经典名著改编本为主，亦含少量当代原创作品。每本读物还包含丰富的百科类阅读文本以及大量的语言学习活动和习题，在拓宽学生文化视野的同时，能引导学生深入透彻地理解文本，循序渐进地积累词汇、句型和语法等语言知识，全面发展听、说、读、写、看这五项语言技能，学习并合理运用跨学科知识，培养跨文化意识，提升阐释、分析、评估等思维能力。
　　“黑猫英语分级读物”语言地道优美，配图精美；注重词汇学习和积累，在每本读物的页脚位置，为重、难点词汇提供了词性、音标以及图片或文字（汉语或英汉双语）注释，小学段的读物后还附有图片词典；每本读物都配有分角色、剧场化的录音，可供学生聆听、跟读、仿读，是学生提高英语发音，培养语感必不可少的资源。读者可扫描每册读物封二中提供的二维码、安装“爱听外语”APP以获取该册图书的MP3录音。
　　我们坚信，“黑猫英语分级读物”将带给读者非同一般的阅读体验，使其穿越时空与古今文学大师进行心灵的对话、思想的碰撞，积淀人文知识，提升人文素养，为其终身发展奠定坚实的基础。

　　Thomas Hardy was a 19th-century novelist and 20th-century poet. He was born in 1840 in the village of Higher Bockhampton.His mother was a well-read woman who taught Thomas at home until he was eight years old and able to begin school. His father was a stone mason Hardy's family didn't have enough money to send him to university, so at the age of sixteen he began training with a local architect. He moved to London in 1862, but he didn't feel comfortable there. As the son of a working man, he often felt like an outsider in middle-class soaety.His work as an architect took him to Cornwallin 1870, where he was asked to rebuild a beautiful old church. There, he met Emma Gifford,who became his first wife.At that point, Hardy had been writing novels for several years, but he did not find success until his fourth book, Far from the Madding Crowd （1874）. This novel brought him enough money to be able to give up his job as an architect. In the autumn of 1874, Thomas and Emma were married, and nine years later, they moved to a house in Dorset that Hardy had designed himself. Unfortunately, their marriage quickly became unhappy, and for years the couple rarely spoke to each other.During these years, Hardy continued to write novels, often stories that critiased society, marriage and religion. This was espeaally true of his last two novels, which are thought to be his best： Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891） and Iude the Obscure (1895）.In 1896, Hardy stopped writing fiction and turned hi.s full attention to poetry, which he had always preferred. His most successful collection was Poems of 1912-1913. These poems were written after Emma's death,in 1912, and most of them express deep sadness and regret as Hardy looked back at their life together.In 1914, he married his secretary, Florence Dugdale, who was thirty-nine years younger than he was. Hardy continued to publish poetry wellinto his eighties and his work was greatly admired by many 20th-century writers such as D. H. Lawrence, Robert Frost and Virginia Woolf. In 1910, Hardy received the Order of Merit and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was nominated again in 1921, but was never a winner.Thomas Hardy died in 1928. His ashes were taken to Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey, where England's greatest writers are honoured.However, his heart was removed and buried in Dorset with Emma.