《野性的呼唤》适合初三、高一年级学生阅读。“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!

杰克·伦敦1876年生于旧金山，死于1916年。他出身穷苦，在他短暂的一生中他有丰富的经历——海员、工人、育空河的淘金人、旅行家、记者和作家。他写了很多书，但是其中以《野性的呼唤》和另一本写狗的书《白芳》，最广为流传。

在加利福尼亚的家里，巴克过着安逸舒适的生活。他是那儿最高大强壮的狗，地位举足轻重。他和孩子们一同散步，在水中嬉戏，冬天的时候他就坐在主人的炉火边取暖。但是在1897年，发现了金矿，他们需要向巴克这样的狗。于是巴克被从家乡偷运到北方。他在那里学会了拉雪橇，在冰天雪地中日复一日的跋涉。他学全了偷食以慰饥肠，破冰取水解渴，还学会了反击来对付那些欺负他的狗。而且他学得很快。 
　　不久巴克成为了北方所有著名的拉雪橇的狗之一。但是北部是狼群出没的森林，在那里他们对着明月长嗥。野性的呼唤在巴克的梦中回想，越来越响亮……

1 To the north
1 北部之旅
2 The law of club and tooth
2 暴力原则
3 The wild animal
3 野性
4 The new lead-dog
4 新的头犬
5 More hard work
5 更艰苦的工作
6 For the love of a man
6 为了一个人的爱
7 The call of the wild
7 野性的呼唤
Exercises

Buck did not read the newspapers．He did not know that trouble was coming for every big dog in California．Men had found gold in the Yukon，and these men wanted big，strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north.
　　Buck lived in Mr Miller's big house in the sunny Santa Clara valley．There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house，and a river nearby．In a big place like this，of course，there were many dogs．There were house dogs and farm dogs，but they were not important．Buck was chief dog；he was born here，and this was his place．He was four years old and weighed sixty kilos．He went swimming with Mr Miller's sons，and walking with his daughters．He carried the grandchildren on his back，and he sat at Mr Miller's feet in front of the fire in winter.
　　But this was 1897，and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west Canada to look for gold．And he did not know that Manuel，one of Mr Miller's gardeners，needed money for his large family．One day，when Mr Miller was out，Manuel and Buck left the garden together．It was just an evening walk，Buck thought．No one saw them go，and only one man saw them arrive at the railway station．This man talked to Manuel，and gave him some money．Then he tied a piece of rope around Buck's neck.
　　Buck growled，and was surprised when the rope was pulled hard around his neck．He jumped at the man．The man caught him and suddenly Buck was on his back with his tongue out of his mouth．For a few moments he was unable to move，and it was easy for the two men to put him into the train.
　　When Buck woke up，the train was still moving．The man was sitting and watching him，but Buck was too quick for him and he bit the man's hand hard．Then the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let go.
　　That evening，the man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco．The barman looked at the man's hand and trousers covered in blood.
　　‘How much are they paying you for this？’he asked.
　　‘I only get fifty dollars.’
　　‘And the man who stole him—how much did he get？’asked the barman.
　　‘A hundred．He wouldn't take less.’
　　‘That makes a hundred and fifty．It's a good price for a dog like him．Here，help me to get him into this.’
　　They took off Buck's rope and pushed him into a wooden box．He spent the night in the box in the back room of the bar．His neck still ached with pain from the rope，and he could not understand what it all meant．What did they want with him，these strange men？And where was Mr Miller？
　　The next day Buck was carried in the box to the railway station and put on a train to the north．For two days and nights the train travelled north，and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor drank．Men on the train laughed at him and pushed sticks at him through the holes in the box．For two days and nights Buck got angrier and hungrier and thirstier．His eyes grew red and he bit anything that moved.
　　In Seattle four men took Buck to a small，high-walled back garden，where a fat man in an old red coat was waiting．Buck was now very angry indeed and he jumped and bit at the sides of his box．The fat man smiled and went to get an axe and a club.