书虫牛津英汉双语读物。
　　“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！

　　珍妮特·哈迪-古尔德担任英语教师多年。在闲暇之余，她喜欢阅读史书和现代小说，去欧洲旅行，以及同朋友们品茶。她同丈夫和两个孩子一起生活在英格兰南部的古城刘易斯。她著书多部，其中包括“书虫”系列的《亨利八世和他的六位妻子》、《亚瑟王传奇》、《伦敦大火》和《花木兰》。

　　英格兰国王亨利八世因为很多事情而出名，但他也因有六个妻子而闻名于世。他不是个好丈夫。人们说，当他挑选新妻子时，父亲们都会带着女儿远离王宫。他们都不愿意让国王选中他们的女儿当下一任王后，因为他的几位王后都很短命，而且都很不幸。

1 King Henry is dead
1．亨利国王去世
2 Katherine of Aragon
2．阿拉贡的凯瑟琳
3 Anne Boleyn
3．安妮·博伦
4 Jane Seymour
4．简·西摩
5 Anne of Cleves
5．克利夫斯的安妮
6 Katherine Howard
6．凯瑟琳·霍华德
7 Catherine Parr
7．凯瑟琳·帕尔

　　King Henry the Eighth of England was famous for many things，but he was also famous because he had six wives．He was not a kind husband．People say that when he was looking for a new wife，careful fathers took their daughters away from the palace．They did not want the King to choose their daughter to be the next Queen，because some of his Queens had very short and unhappy lives．
　　Why did King Henry divorce two wives，and kill two others？ What were his queens really like？
　　Catherine Parr，the sixth wife，lived on after the King's death．One day she goes back to the palace of Whitehall and finds a box of old letters written to the King—one from each of the first five wives．She sits down to read them to her young maid，Margaret．The first letter is from the daughter of the King of Spain，Katherine of Aragon，who was Henry's wife for twenty-four years．She died alone and sad and friendless……
　　My name is Catherine Parr．A month ago I was the Queen of England，the wife of King Henry the Eighth．Henry died and we buried him last week in St George's Church，Windsor．Two days ago，on 16th February 1547，I went back to the palace of Whitehall，which was once my home．I wanted to take my letters and books and bring them back to my house．
　　Margaret，my new maid，came to the palace with me．She's very young and doesn't know a lot about the world．She has only just come up to London from her home in Somerset．Perhaps I was like her when I was twelve．I，too，was always asking questions and wanting answers immediately．
　　When we arrived at the palace，it was cold and dark．We walked into Henry's room．I sat down in one of Henry's large chairs in front of his wooden writing desk and looked at the pictures around the room．Next to me there was a big picture of Henry，when he was young．He was very handsome then，not like the fat old man he was later．I thought his blue eyes were watching me．I turned to Margaret and said:
　　'You see that picture of the King？ That's what he was like when he was young—tall and strong and handsome．People say that he never got tired．He could go out riding all day，changing his horses nine or ten times，and then he could dance all night．He was clever，too; he could speak five languages．Will people remember him like that，or will they only remember him because he had six wives？'
　　'Did he really have so many wives？' said Margaret．
　　'Yes，of course．I thought that everyone knew that．'
　　Margaret looked away and said，'We didn't get much news from London at home，and my family's house is a long way from the nearest village．'
　　'It doesn't matter，' I said，smiling．'One day，I'll tell you the story of my husband Henry's life．'
　　On the desk in front of me there was a wooden box with a large gold H on the top．I opened it slowly and took out some old letters．Each letter was in different writing and some of them were old and yellow．One letter had a picture of a large bird on it．It was from Henry's second wife，Anne Boleyn．
　　'Margaret!' I said．'I've found some letters from Henry's other wives．There's also a beautiful gold necklace and a small piece of hair．' I looked at another letter．'Here's one old letter from his first wife，Katherine of Aragon．She was married to him for a very long time．'
　　'She only had one child，didn't she？' said Margaret．
　　'Yes，only Princess Mary is still alive．There were five other children，but they were all born too early and died．'
　　Again I looked at the letter with the picture of the bird on it．'Have you heard of Anne Boleyn，Margaret？'
　　'Yes，my mother talked about her．She said she was a very bad woman．'
　　'Well，that's what some people say．Anne was the mother of Henry's second daughter，Princess Elizabeth．Look，' I said．'This one is from Katherine Howard，Henry's fifth wife．Both Anne and Katherine were beheaded in that terrible prison，the Tower of London．'
　　'Why did the King send them to their deaths？' asked Margaret．She looked afraid．
　　'They had many enemies，who told the King that they had lovers．Perhaps the stories were true，I don't know．But the King believed them．'
　　我叫凯瑟琳·帕尔。一个月前我还是英格兰的王后，国王亨利八世的妻子。亨利去世了，我们上周在温莎的圣乔治教堂埋葬了他。两天前，也就是1547年2月l6日，我回到了白厅的王宫，这儿曾经是我的家。我想拿走我的信件和书籍，把它们带回我的家。
　　我的新侍女玛格丽特和我一起来到王宫。她非常年轻，不谙世事。她刚从她的家乡萨默塞特来到伦敦。我12岁时可能也和她一样，总爱问问题并总想马上知道答案。
　　到达王宫时，那里又冷又暗。我们走进了亨利的房间。我在他那木制写字台前的一把大椅子上坐了下来，环视着屋里的画。我旁边是一张亨利年轻时的大幅画像。那时他非常英俊，不像后来那样又老又胖。我觉得，他的蓝眼睛正注视着我。我转向玛格丽特说：
　　“你看到国王的那幅画像了吧？那是他年轻时的样子——高大，强壮，而且英俊。人们说他永远不会疲倦。他能整天在外骑马，换九到十次马，然后还能整夜跳舞。他也非常聪明，会说五种语言。但人们会因为他是这样一个人而记住他，还是仅仅因为他有过六个妻子而记住他呢？”
　　“他真有那么多妻子吗？”玛格丽特说。
　　“是的，当然。我想大家都知道。”
　　玛格丽特望着远处说道：“我们在家时对伦敦的消息知道得并不多，我家离最近的村子也有很长一段路。”