The Most Dangerous GameA cabin cruiser is shipwrecked off the coast of a remote island, and its three passengers manage to reach the island safely. The island is owned by a strange and enigmatic count who invites them to stay. But he has an underlying motive for his apparent generosity: Count Zaroff enjoys hunting-and he only hunts the most dangerous game: humans!Hunting and EscapingThe Most Dangerous Game is the popular short story originally published in 1924 which was written by Richard Connell. This is the story of a big game hunter who is trapped on an island with a fellow hunter, who is uninterested in hunting stereotypical prey, and instead decides that the only prey worthy of his skills is other humans. This title is often required reading in middle schools, and has been since adapted into movies and extended versions. This title is the original version by the author, and is considered one of the greatest short stories ever written.Rainsford : A world-renowned hunterZaroff : the ex-Czarist-Russia generalIvan : Zaroff s servantHuntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing (usually wildlife) for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching(非法狩猎), which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law. The species which are hunted are referred to as game and are usually mammals（哺乳动物） and migratory（迁移的） or non-migratory gamebirds.Hunting in Russia has an old tradition in terms of indigenous（土著的） people, while the original features of state and princely economy were farming and cattle-breeding. There was hunting for food as well as sport. In the 15th-16th centuries, foreign ambassadors were frequently invited to hunts; they also received some of the prey afterwards.The Russian imperial(帝王的) hunts evolved from hunting traditions of early Russian rulers (Grand Princes and Tsars), under the influence of hunting customs of European royal courts. The imperial hunts were organized mainly in Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo and Gatchina.俄国的沙皇都热衷打猎，经常将这种消遣作为高层解决政治问题的一种手段。 1884年，俄国、奥地利和德意志三国君主在华沙斯凯尔涅维采郊外的皇宫会晤，讨论“三帝王同盟”的延期问题。沙皇的贴身侍卫之一马雷欣对这次会晤作了如下的记载：“9月4日。用过早餐之后，狩猎车队从斯凯尔涅维采出发，下午两点准时来到园囿。皇帝陛下像个职业猎手，一枪便打中了一头鹿，威廉皇帝也一枪撂倒一头鹿，而弗兰茨约塞夫皇帝更是3枪结束了3头鹿的性命。” 俄国最后一个沙皇尼古拉二世的打猎兴趣并不逊于前几任。他刚一登基，便写信给其兄弟格奥尔基亚力山德罗维奇，称自己一星期必到加特纳契去打一次猎哥萨克（）哥萨克（乌克兰语：；俄语：）是一群生活在东欧大草原（乌克兰、俄罗斯南部）的游牧社群。在历史上以骁勇善战和精湛的骑术著称，并且是支撑俄罗斯帝国于17世纪往东扩张的主要力量。历史背景 哥萨克()这个词来自突厥语，是俄国的民间文学中的“绿林好汉”，很多书上都解释说是“自由自在的人”，其实用中国的话说就是“盲流”。它们的组织形式是军民合一的部落形式的自治体，他们建筑一种特殊的营地叫“塞契”(或译为“营地”)，由土围子、堑壕、原木围墙和带有射击孔的塔楼组成，营地定期举行全体成员大会，其中以乌克兰的札波罗什哥萨克最为有名。中国人熟悉的关于哥萨克的小说有托尔斯泰的哥萨克人、肖洛霍夫的静静的顿河、绥拉莫维奇的铁流、巴别尔的骑兵军、富尔曼诺夫的夏伯阳、阿托尔斯泰的苦难的历程。俄罗斯的哥萨克却是一个性格鲜明的有共同特征的社会文化群体，它在今乌克兰和俄罗斯境内存在了大约500年的历史。