福尔摩斯探案故事情节曲折、引人入胜。《血字研究》、《四签名》、《巴斯克维尔庄园的猎犬》以及《恐怖谷》是《福尔摩斯全集》中最著名的四个故事。这四个故事短小精悍、难度适中，极适合中等程度的英语学习者使用。为方便读者学习，我们对书中出现的含义晦涩的英语单词及个别难句作了简要注释，力求使其成为既能引起读者阅读兴趣，又有助于读者英语学习的优秀读物。

伯斯东庄园的主人道格拉斯不幸惨遭杀害，死状奇惨无比，头颅几乎被枪击得粉碎，四周血肉模糊，惨不忍睹！除了死者左手上的结婚戒指和凶杀现场的一只哑铃不翼而飞外，现场并没有遗失什么东西。此外，尸体旁边留有卡片，上面潦草地写着“V.V.341”的字样。这令案子更为扑朔迷离：这张卡片难道是凶手留下来的吗？它代表什么意义？

“恐怖谷”曾令道格拉斯惴惴不安。“恐怖谷”究竟是个怎样的地方？道格拉斯的死与“恐怖谷”有什么关系吗？就让福尔摩斯带你解开一个又一个谜团吧。

     PART 1 : The Tragedy of Biristone

Chapter 1 The Warning

Chapter 2 Sherlock Holmes Discourses

Chapter 3 The Tragedy of Birlstone

Chapter 4 Darkness

Chapter 5 The People of the Drama

Chapter 6 A Dawning Light

Chapter 7 The Solution

        PART 2 : The Scowrers

Chapter 1 The Man

Chapter 2 The Bodymaster

Chapter 3 Lodge 341, Vermissa

Chapter 4 The Valley of Fear

Chapter 5 The Darkest Hour

Chapter 6 Danger

Chapter 7 The Trapping of Birdy Edwards

The good impression which had been produced by his generosity and by his democratic manners was increased by a reputation gained for utter indifference to danger. Though a wretched rider, he turned out at every meet, and took the most amazing falls in his determination to hold his own with the best. When the vicarage caught fire he distinguished himself also by the fearlessness with which he reentered the building to save property, after the local fire brigade had given it up as impossible. Thus it came about that John Douglas of the Manor House had within five years won himself quite a reputation in Birlstone.

His wife, too, was popular with those who had made her acquaintance; though, after the English fashion, the callers upon a stranger who settled in the county without introductions were few and far between. This mattered the less to her, as she was retiring by disposition, and very much absorbed, to all appearance, in her husband and her domestic duties. It was known that she was an English lady who had met Mr. Douglas in London, he being at that time a widower. She was a beautiful woman, tall, dark, and slender, some twenty years younger than her husband; a disparity which seemed in no wise to mar the contentment of their family life.

It was remarked sometimes, however, by those who knew them best, that the confidence between the two did not appear to be complete, since the wife was either very reticent about her husband's past life, or else, as seemed more likely, was imperfectly informed about it. It had also been noted and commented upon by a few observant people that there were signs sometimes of some nerve-strain upon the part of Mrs. Douglas, and that she would display acute uneasiness if her absent husband should ever be particularly late in his return.On a quiet countryside, where all gossip is welcome,this weakness of the lady of the Manor House did not pass without remark, and it bulked larger upon people's memory when the events arose which gave it a very special significance.

There was yet another individual whose residence under that roof was, it is true, only an intermittent one, but whose presence at the time of the strange happenings which will now be narrated brought his name prominently before the public. This was Cecil Jarnes Barker, of Hales Lodge,Hamostead.

P38-40

英语学习是一个积累的过程，在这个过程中，大量的阅读至关重要，而英语原著无疑是最好的阅读材料。通过阅读英语原著，英语学习者能够巩固和增加词汇量，积累足够的句式，吸收、内化语言规律，从而能够用英语自由流畅地进行表达，还可获取文化背景方面的知识。

阅读英语文学原著既有益又有趣。但很多人在阅读过程中都会遇到一个难题：原著中的生词、难词极大地影响了阅读速度，查词典要花大量时问，且影响阅读的连贯性，不查词典又无法读通、读懂。为了帮助广大英语爱好者阅读原汁原味的英语文学作品，我们选择福尔摩斯探案故事中四部精彩的中篇小说，对其中的阅读难点从语言上或文化背景知识上详加注释，以期帮助读者在享受阅读趣味的同时，提高语言能力，汲取一定的文化背景知识。

福尔摩斯探案故事的作者柯南·道尔爵士由于成功塑造了歇洛克·福尔摩斯这一侦探人物，成为侦探小说历史上最重要的作家之一。柯南·道尔于1859年5月22日出生于爱丁堡，1876年至1881年间在爱丁堡大学学习医学，毕业后作为一名随船医生前往西非海岸，1882年回国后在普利茅斯开业行医，在此期间道尔开始写作。柯南·道尔的第一部重要作品《血字研究》(A Study in Scarlet)发表在《1887年比顿圣诞年刊》(Beeton’s Christmas Annual for 1887)上，小说的主角歇洛克·福尔摩斯由此名声大噪，家喻户晓。柯南·道尔一生一共创作了五十六部短篇侦探小说和四部中篇侦探小说。他对人物的塑造独具匠心，心理刻画细致入微，场景描写和气氛营造都十分引人人胜，其作品具有较高的文学价值。

福尔摩斯探案故事布局严谨，伏笔巧妙，情节环环相扣，令人爱不释手，读者往往要到结局真相大白的时候，才能松一口气。《血字研究》、《四签名》、《巴斯克维尔庄园的猎犬》以及《恐怖谷》是福尔摩斯探案故事中最著名的四个故事。这四个故事不仅情节曲折、引人人胜，而且短小精悍、难度适中，极适合英语学习者使用。通过阅读这套丛书，英语学习者有望提高英语阅读、表达能力，并增加对英国文化的了解。

愿这套丛书能够带领广大英语爱好者走入一个多彩的英语世界。

               上海辞书出版社

                2007年7月