1、The call of the wild English1 To the north 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 northBuck lived in Mr Millers big house in th
2、e 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 importantBuck was chief dog;he was born here, and this was his place He w
3、as four years old and weighed sixty kilos He went swimming with Mr Millers sons,and walking with his daughters He carried the grandchildren on his back, and he sat at Mr Millers feet in front of the fire in winterBut this was 1897, and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west
4、Canada to look for goldAnd he did not know that Manuel, one of Mr Millers gardeners, needed money for his large family One day,when Mr Miller was out, Manuel and Buck left the garden togetherIt was just an evening walk, Buck thoughtNo one saw them go, and only one man saw them arrive at the railway
5、stationThis man talked to Manuel, and gave him some money Then he tied a piece of rope around Bucks neckBuck growled, and was surprised when the rope was pulled hard around his neckHe jumped at the manThe man caught him and suddenly Buck was on his back with his tongue out of his mouth For a few mom
6、ents he was unable to move, and it was easy for the two men to put him into the trainWhen 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 mans hand hardThen the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let goThat evening, the
7、man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco The barman looked at the mans hand and trousers covered in bloodHow much are they paying you for this?he askedI only get fifty dollarsAnd the man who stole himhow much did he get? asked the barmanA hundred He wouldnt take lessThat makes a hund
8、red and fifty Its a good price for a dog like him Here, help me to get him into thisThey took off Bucks 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
9、 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 trainto the northFor 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
10、pushed sticks at him through the holes in the box For two days and nights Buck got angrier and hungrier and thirsti-er His eyes grew red and he bit anything that movedIn Seattle four men took Buck to a small, highwalled back garden, where a fat man in an old red coat was waiting Buck was now very an
11、gry indeed and hejumped and bit at the sides of his box The fat man smiled and went to get an axe and a clubAre you going to take him out now? asked one of the men Of course, answered the fat man, and he began to break the box with his axeImmediately the four other men climbed up onto the wall to wa
12、tch from a safe placeAs the fat man hit the box with his axe, Buck jumped at the sides, growling and biting, pulling with his teeth at the pieces of broken wood After a few minutes there was a hole big enough for Buck to get out Now, come here, red eyes, said the fat man, dropping his axe and taking
13、 the club in his right handBuck jumped at the man, sixty kilos of anger, his mouth wide open ready to bite the mans neck Just before his teeth touched the skin, the man hit him with the club Buck fell to the ground It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand He sto
14、od up, and jumped again Again the club hit him and he crashed to the groundTen times he jumped at the man, and ten times the club hit him Slowly he got to his feet, now only just able to standThere was blood on his nose and mouth and ears Then the fat man walked up and hit him again, very hard, on t
15、he noseThe pain was terrible Again, Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the groundA last time he jumped, and this time, when the man knocked him down, Buck did not moveHe knows how to teach a dog a lesson, said one of the men on the wall Then the four men jumped down and went back to the
16、stationHis name is Buck,said the fat man to himself, reading the letter that had come with the boxWell, Buck, my by,he said in a friendly voice,weve argued a little, and I think the best thing to do now is to stop Be a good dog and well be friends But if youre a bad dog, Ill have to use my club agai
17、nUnderstand?As he spoke, he touched Buck s head, and although Buck was angry inside, he did not move When the man brought him water and meat, Buck drank and then ate the meat, piece by piece, from the mans handBuck was beaten(he knew that) but he was not broken He had learnt that a man with a club w
18、as stronger than himEvery day he saw more dogs arrive, and each dog was beaten by the fat man Buck understood that a man with a club must be obeyed, although he did not have to be a friendMen came to see the fat man and to look at the dogs Some-times they paid money and left with one or more of the
19、dogsOne day a short, dark man came and looked at BuckThats a good dog! he criedHow much do you want for him?Three hundred dollars Its a good price, Perrault,said the fat manPerrault smiled and agreed that it was a good price He knew dogs, and he knew that Buck was an excellent dogOne in ten thousand
20、, Perrault said to himselfBuck saw money put into the fat man s hand, and he was not surprised when he and another dog called Curly were taken away by Perrault He took them to a ship, and later that day Buck and Curly stood and watched the coast get further and further awayThey had seen the warm sou
21、th for the last timePerrault took Buck and Curly down to the bottom of the ship There they met another man, Francois Perrault was a FrenchCanadian, but Francois was halfIndian,tall and darkBuck learnt quickly that Perrault and Francois were fair men,calm and honest And they knew everything about dog
22、sThere were two other dogs on the shipOne was a big dog called Spitz, as white as snow He was friendly to Buck at first, always smiling He was smiling when he tried to steal Buck s food at the first meal Francois was quick and hit Spitz before Buck had time to move Buck decided that this was fair, a
23、nd began to like Francois a littleDave, the other dog, was not friendly He wanted to be alone all the time He ate and slept and was interested in nothingOne day was very like another, but Buck noticed that the weather was getting colder One morning, the ships engines stopped, and there was a feeling
24、 of excitement in the shipFrancois leashed the dogs and took them outside At the first step Bucks feet went into something soft and white He jumped back in surprise The soft, white thing was also falling through the air, and it fell onto him He tried to smell it, and then caught some on his tongue I
25、t bit like fire, and then dis appeared He tried again and the same thing happened People were watching him and laughing, and Buck felt ashamed,although he did not know why It was his first snow 2 The law of club and tooth Bucks first day at Dyea Beach was terrible Every hour there was some new, frig
26、htening surprise There was no peace, no restonly continual noise and movement And every minute there was danger, because these dogs and men were not town dogs and men They knew only the law of club and toothBuck had never seen dogs fight like these dogs; they were like wolves In a few minutes he lea
27、rnt this from watching Curly She tried to make friends with a dog, a big one, although not as big as she was There was no warning The dog jumped on Curly, his teeth closed together, then he jumped away,and Curlys face was torn open from eye to mouthWolves fight like this,biting and jumping away,but
28、the fight did not finish then Thirty or forty more dogs ran up and made a circle around the fight, watching silently Curly tried to attack the dog who had bitten her; he bit her a second time, and jumped away When she attacked him again, he knocked her backwards, and she fell on the ground She never
29、 stood up again, because this was what the other dogs were waiting for They moved in, and in a moment she was under a crowd of dogsIt was all very sudden Buck saw Spitz run out from the crowd with his tongue out of his mouth, laughing Then he saw Francois with an axe, and two or three other men with
30、 clubs jump in among the dogs Two minutes later the last of the dogs was chased away But Curly lay dead in the snow,her body torn almost to piecesCurlys death often came backto Buck in his dreams He understood that once a dog was down on the ground, he was dead He also remembered Spitz laughing, and
31、 from that moment he hated himThen Buck had another surprise Francois put a harness on him Buck had seen harnesses on horses, and now he was made to work like a horse, pulling Francois on a sledge into the forest and returning with wood for the fire Buck worked with Spitz and DaveThe two other dogs
32、had worked in a harness before, and Buck learnt by watching them He also learnt to stop and turn when Francois shoutedThose three are very good dogs,Francois told PerraultThat Buck pulls very well, and hes learning quicklyPerrault had important letters and official papers to take to Dawson City, so that afternoon he bought two more dogs, two brothers called Billee and JoeBillee was very f
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