“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，试想如痴如醉沉迷于书卷，孜孜不倦地咀嚼着字母的那么一只“书虫”……
　　如今这只“书虫”漂洋过海，轻盈落在了中国英语学习者的掌中。“书虫”首先将给你处信，即使你目前只有几百词汇，即可以不大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：你已经如蛹变蝶一样，振翅欲翔了！

　　阿瑟·柯南·道尔爵士
　　阿瑟·柯南·道尔爵士（1859-1930），出生于苏格兰的爱丁堡，因创造了夏洛克·福尔摩斯这一形象而闻名。他原为医生，后开始写作，并很快成为世界上最著名的作家之一。“书虫”系列另有四部柯南·道尔的作品，其中三本讲述夏洛克·福尔摩斯的故事：《蓝色宝石》、《诺伍德之谜》和《四签名》，另外一本为探险故事《失落的世界》。

  一个来自英国贵族家庭的男子在伦敦最好的一家银行留了一顶昂贵的皇冠。随后有人想拿走皇冠，于是他找到了福尔摩斯。是谁想要这顶皇冠？为什么？只有福尔摩斯知道答案。本书是书虫牛津英汉双语(美绘光盘版)第一级的读物，适合初一、初二年级学生阅读。

ACTIVITIES
Chapter One　A strange man　第一章　一个奇怪的人
Chapter Two　Holder's story　第二章　霍尔德的故事
Chapter Three　In the night　第三章　夜里
Chapter Four　The house in Streatham　第四章　斯特雷特姆的房子
Chapter Five　'You are near the end of your trouble.'　第五章　“您的麻烦就要结束了。”
Chapter Six　All in a day's work　第六章　一天就查清了
PROJECT　拓展训练
GRAMMAR CHECK　语法充电
TRANSLATION　译文

　　My friend, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, got up slowly from his chair．He stood behind me, with his hands in his pockets, and looked down into Baker Street．It was a cold February morning, and the snow of the day before was on the road.
　　The man in the street was about fifty, tall, and fat．He wore expensive clothes – a long black coat, a tall hat and dark trousers．He ran along the street, and he looked very worried．His hands went up and down quickly, and his head moved from left to right.
　　'What's wrong with him?' I said．'He's looking at the numbers on all the houses.'
　　'Watson,' said Holmes．'He's coming here, I think.'
　　'Here?' I asked.
　　'Yes,' said Holmes．'He's very unhappy about something, and he wants my help.'
　　Just then, the man stopped at our front door.
　　'There…… I told you, Watson,' said Holmes with a smile．'He's here to see me.'
　　Not long after that, the maid brought the man up to our room．Soon he stood in front of us．His head moved from left to right, and he put his hand up worriedly and pulled his hair from time to time．His mouth opened, but he couldn't speak.
　　Holmes took him by the arm and smiled．'Please sit down,' he said, and he took him across the room to one of the chairs, and sat down next to him．'You'd like to tell us your story．Is that right? You are tired．We can wait a minute, and when you are ready, we can begin.'
　　The man sat for a minute or two．Holmes and I waited quietly．Then, when he was ready, the man looked up and began．'I look very strange, I know,' he said quietly.
　　'No, no,' said Holmes．'You want to tell me something important, that's all.'
　　'Why did this happen to me? It's the worst thing…… the very worst,' said the stranger.
　　'Please tell me your name, sir, and then you can tell me your story,' said Holmes.
　　'Perhaps you know my name,' said our visitor slowly．'I am Alexander Holder of the Holder and Stevenson Bank of Threadneedle Street.'
　　'Ah yes,' said Holmes．'One of the oldest banks in London.'
　　'I'm sorry, sir,' said Holder．'They told me about you and said, "You must speak to Sherlock Holmes．He can help you！" I came to see you at once．I ran from Baker Street station to get here more quickly．It looked strange, I know, because I don't usually go running．Thank you for waiting．I am ready now to begin.'
　　Holder then started to tell us his story：
　　Yesterday morning I was in my office at the bank when a man came to see me．When I saw him, I was very surprised．He was a very famous man．I'm sorry, but I can't tell you his name – because he's one of the British royal family.
　　'Mr Holder,' he said．'People come to you to borrow money, I hear.'
　　'Yes, they do,' I said．'And we always give it to them when we can.'