Backyard owls bring smiles后院貓頭鷹帶來笑容

張世玉

費希爾一家的后院飛來了一對貓頭鷹夫婦，這讓身處疫情又身患癌癥的費希爾感受到了對未來的希望，也讓人們從大自然中感悟到：一切都會變好的。

主題語境：人與動物 篇幅：305詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1 Vince and Shawna Fisher have lived on Bayou Texar in Pensacola for years. Theyare used to seeing dolphins， ospreys and even the occasional bald eagles. But when somethingnew showed up then， they were surprised and thrilled！

2“One morning， I was in the yard and I could hear her hooting but I couldnt findher. I think it was a couple of mornings later Shawna started yelling，‘There are owls in theosprey nest！”

3 While most of us were fascinated by owls and would be thrilled to watch an avian （鳥類的）“family drama”play out in our back yard， the owls unexpected arrival and the birthof the cute baby owl meant a little more to the Fishers. They said that along with the usualsigns of spring， the owl nest represented hope.

4“Ive had cancer for six years，”said Vince.“Every second means more to me thanmost peoples days or years. I see things I didnt see before. I think about things I didntthink about before.”The Fishers and I talked about illness， the pandemic， and all theweird and sometimes terrible weather weve been through the past year， agreeing that itsbeen a tough year for everyone. They hope the story of these owls will stir up hope in all ofus that better times are on the horizon.

5“It brings a new vision， an awakening， and gives you hope that things are okay andtheyre gonna be okay，”Shawna said. Vince added，“Because this （nature） was here along time before all this mess started， I guess it shows that there is going to be a recov?ery and it is going to get back to normal.”

6 Both of the Fishers said they believe its important to slow down and really look at nature thats around us.

Reading Check

Detail?1. Why were the Fishers excited？

A. They lived near the sea.

B. They could see eagles.

C. Because of the arrival of the owls.

D. Because of the birds?drama they watched.

Inference

2. Whats Vinces attitude towards his cancer？

A. Unconcerned. B. Pessimistic.

C. Cautious. D. Positive.

Inference

3. What might be the relationship between the author and the Fishers？

A. Teacher and students. B. Old friends.

C. Employer and employees. D. Relatives.

Inference

4. What can we learn from the Fishers story？

A. Owls always bring hope. B. Hope is always around us.

C. The pandemic is unacceptable. D. Nature heals itself.

Language Study

Difficult sentenceBecause this （nature） was here a long time before all this mess started， I guess itshows that there is going to be a recovery and it is going to get back to normal. 因為這（自然）在所有這些混亂開始之前就已經(jīng)存在了很長時間，我想這表明，一切都會開始復(fù)蘇并恢復(fù)正常。

【點石成金】該句為主從復(fù)合句，主句為I guess it shows that...normal，主句中that引導(dǎo)賓語從句作shows的賓語，且賓語從句中含and連接的there be句型和一個簡單句；從句為because引導(dǎo)的原因狀語從句，其中又包含一個before引導(dǎo)的時間狀語從句。