后院貓頭鷹帶來笑容

四川 張世玉

主題語境：人與動物 篇幅：305詞 建議用時：6分鐘

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

2“One morning,I was in the yard and I could hear her hooting but I couldn't find her.I think it was a couple of mornings later Shawna started yelling,‘There are owls in the osprey nest!’”

3While 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 birth of the cute baby owl meant a little more to the Fishers.They said that along with the usual signs of spring,the owl nest represented hope.

4“I've had cancer for six years,”said Vince.“Every second means more to me than most people's days or years.I see things I didn't see before.I think about things I didn't think about before.”The Fishers and I talked about illness,the pandemic,and all the weird and sometimes terrible weather we've been through the past year,agreeing that it's been a tough year for everyone.They hope the story of these owls will stir up hope in all of us that better times are on the horizon.

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

6Both of the Fishers said they believe it's important to slow down and really look at nature that's around us.

Reading

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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.What's Vince's 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

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Difficult sentence

Because this(nature)was here a long time before all this mess started,I guess it shows 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存在了很長時間，我想這表明，一切都會開始復蘇并恢復正常。

【點石成金】該句為主從復合句，主句為I guess it shows that...normal，主句中that引導賓語從句作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引導的原因狀語從句，其中又包含一個before引導的時間狀語從句。