《三个陌生人：3级(适合初3、高1)》是“书虫牛津英汉双语读物”中的一册，“书虫”是外语教学与研究出版社和牛津大学出版社共同奉献给广大英语学习者的一大精品。书虫在英语中大概是颇可爱的形象。想象一下，有那么一只勤勉的小虫，它如痴如醉地沉迷于书卷，孜孜不倦地咀嚼着字母……如今这只“书虫”漂洋过海，轻盈地落在了中国英语学习者的掌中。“书虫”首先将给你自信，即使你目前只有几百的词汇量，也可以不太费劲地阅览世界名作了。书虫还会用它细细的鸣叫声不停地提醒你：要坚持不懈地读下去，要广泛而丰富地读下去。待到读完丛书系列中的最后一本，你也许会突然发现：你已经如蛹化蝶，振翅欲翔了！

托马斯·哈代最著名的小说莫过于《德伯家的苔丝》，但他也创作了大量的短篇故事。其中大多数取材于哈代在英格兰南部居住时，周围村庄的人们给他讲述的故事。

　　《书虫·牛津英汉双语读物：三个陌生人（3级）（适合初3、高1）》人有相似，无论他们生活在城镇还是乡村，在当代还是一百年前。一个牧羊少年惊恐地睁大了双眼，从他的小棚屋中往外窥视一个女人和一个并非她丈夫的男人秘密约会。一个年轻女教师原本要回家嫁给一个比自己大得多的男人，却因做了一时冲动的事而改变了自己的生活。不过，还是让我们从一座孤零零的村舍的敲门声说起吧。屋内灯光明亮、气氛欢快，人们伴随着音乐翩翩起舞，玩得很开心。屋外大雨滂沱，顺着山间小路走来的陌生人凝视着灯火通明的窗户。他是该继续赶路，还是停下来歇歇、坐在温暖的炉火边吃点东西呢？ 

THE THREE STRANGERS 三个陌生人
1 The first stranger
1．第一个陌生人
2 The second stranger
2．第二个陌生人
3 The third stranger
3．第三个陌生人
WHAT THE SHEPHERD SAW 牧羊人所见
1 First night
1．第一夜
2 Second night
2．第二夜
3 Third night
3．第三夜
4 Fourth night
4．第四夜
A MOMENT OF MADNESS 一时冲动
1 A wedding is arranged
1．订婚
2 A chance meeting
2．偶遇
3 Baptista gets married
3．结婚
4 The honeymoon
4．蜜月
5 Secrets discovered
5．泄密
ACTIVITIES Before Reading
ACTIVITIES While Reading
ACTIVITIES After Reading

　　In the south-west of England there are many long，low，grassy hills，which have not changed their appearance for centuries．Farmers still keep their sheep on them，and the only buildings are lonely cottages，where shepherds live.
　　Fifty years ago there was a shepherd's cottage on one of these hills．It was only three miles from the market town of Casterbridge，but it was unusual for travellers to pass this way．There was no road，just two footpaths which crossed in front of the cottage door．During the long winters，snow and rain fell heavily here，which made travelling difficult.
　　The night of March 28th，1825，was one of the coldest and wettest that winter，but inside the cottage all was warm and cheerful．Shepherd Fennel had invited family and friends to drink to the health of his youngest child，a recent arrival in the family．Nineteen people were at the party：married women and single girls，shepherds and farm workers，young people talking of love，and old friends talking of the past.
　　Shepherd Fennel had chosen his wife well．She was a farmer's daughter from one of the valleys，and when she married，she brought fifty pounds with her in her pocket — and kept it there，for the needs of a coming family．She did not like to spend money unnecessarily，and had worried about the kind of party to give that evening．‘At a sit-still party，’she thought，'the men'll get too comfortable and drink the house dry．But at a dancing-party people get hungry and then they'll eat all our food！We'll have both sitting and dancing — that's the best way.’And secretly she told the fiddler to play for no more than fifteen minutes at a time.
　　But when the dancing began，nobody wanted to stop．The fiddler refused to catch Mrs Fennel's eye，and played on．The music got louder and louder，and the excited dancers stepped faster and faster．Mrs Fennel could do nothing about it，so she sat helplessly in a corner，as the minutes became an hour.
　　While this was happening indoors，outside in the heavy rain and darkness a figure was climbing up the hill from Casterbridge．It was a tall，thin man，about forty years old，dressed all in black and wearing thick，heavy boots.
　　When he reached the shepherd's cottage，the rain came down harder than ever．The man left the footpath and went up to the door．He listened carefully，but the music inside had now stopped，and the man seemed unsure what to do．He looked around，but could see no one on the footpath behind him，and no other houses anywhere near.
　　At last he decided to knock on the door.
　　‘Come in！’called Shepherd Fennel．All eyes turned towards the stranger，as he entered the warm room.
　　He kept his hat on，low over his face．‘The rain is heavy，friends，’he said in a rich，deep voice．‘May I come in and rest here for a while？’
　　‘O’course，stranger，’replied the shepherd．‘You've chosen your moment well，because we're having a party tonight．There's a new baby in the family，you see.’
　　‘I hope you and your fine wife'll have many more，shepherd，’the man answered，smiling politely at Mrs Fennel．He looked quickly round the room，and seemed happy with what he saw．He took his hat off，and shook the water from his shoulders.
　　‘Will you have a drink with us，stranger？’asked Fennel．He passed a mug of his wife's home-made mead to the newcomer，who drank deeply from it and held it out for more.