简・奥斯丁(1775―1817),英国十九世纪初期杰出的现实主义小说家。她出生在英格兰汉普郡一个乡村牧师的家庭,从小没有上过正规学校,只在父母的指导下阅读了大量古典文学作品和流行小说。她终身未婚,二十岁左右开始写作,先后写出六部反映英国乡绅生活的长篇小说。一八一一年,匿名发表了《理智与情感》,受到好评,以后又接连出版了《傲慢与偏见》(1813)、《曼斯菲尔德庄园》(1814)、《爱玛》(1815)。她逝世后的第二年,《诺桑觉寺》和《劝导》同时问世,并且第一次署上作者的真名。

In this witty story of love and marriage, Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth meet again after many years. They are in love, but will they marry? "Penguin Readers" is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. "Penguin Readers" are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from "Easystarts" with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three sub-categories: "Contemporary", "Classics" or "Originals". At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying "Penguin Readers Factsheets" which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.