He returned home 20 years later

吉林梅河口市第五中學 伊 楠

當兩只成年鵝丟下它們的小鵝時，這家人決定撫養這只小鵝。 一場意外，讓這只長大的鵝飛走了……

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難詞探意

1. gosling /?ɡ?zl??/ n. 小鵝；幼鵝

2. latrine /l??tri?n/ n. 廁所；（尤指）茅坑；便坑

3. flock /fl?k/ n. 群

4. crave /kre?v/ v. 渴望；熱望

Many years ago, when I was a boy around seven years old, my parents, sister, brother, and I were coming back from a T-ball game. That was our usual weekend adventure, but unlike every other weekend, a surprise was waiting for us in our driveway. There, we spotted two adult geese and a smallgosling. The adults were frightened of our return and flew away, but their baby was still too young to fly and couldn't follow.

It was clear that the gosling needed protection, warmth,and food to make it to the morning, so we brought him onto our back porch.In the following days, his parents kept coming back to our yard to claim him. The young gosling wouldn't go to them, though. By then, the young goose had clearly decided we were his new family, so we decided to give him a name. My sister Joanna called the little guy Peeper, because he would follow us around the yard making a peeping noise.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months until almost a year passed. Peeper slept on our back porch each night and, in typical goose fashion, used it as alatrine. My dad would spray off all the goose droppings daily. One evening, my uncle came over, and my dad wanted to show him Peeper's loop. He threw him up in the air, but Peeper just flew off. It was dark. Everyone was very sad and worried. We looked for him for days, calling his name, but he didn't come back. We hoped he had found aflockand gone off on his natural way. Twenty years passed, and Peeper became a fond memory for my family.

Geese live to be around 25 years old. They are very loyal and never forget their first home. Even so, it came as a total shock to me when, in 2019, an aging adult goose made his way back to my home. Geese love houses with large and green lawns. So, at first, I assumed it was just another goose.And yet, something about the lone male seemed familiar to me.

After two weeks of the goose coming back repeatedly, it became clear to me that this wasn't a random goose. He did all of the same things Peeper used to do, like trying to come in through the front door and sleeping in our enclosed pool area. In addition to mimicking Peeper's old ways, this goose also responded to the name Peeper. Much to my amazement, my old friend had returned, 20 years later.

This experience has been as meaningful to me as anything in my life. I hope that my children,someday, have the opportunity to connect with nature and a wild being in this same way. Peoplecraveconnection with the natural world. Through Peeper, I have learned so much about the nature of love.

Reading

Check

1. Why did the two adult geese fly away?

2. Why was the gosling called Peeper?

3. Where did Peeper sleep after being separated from his parents?

4. How did the author know the aging adult goose was Peeper?

5. What topic did the author want to convey by the experience?

Language

Study

Sentence for writing

It was clear that the gosling needed protection, warmth, and food to make it to the morning, so we brought him onto our back porch.

【信息提取】It be clear that...意為“很明顯……”，其中clear還可用evident或obvious替代。

【句式仿寫】很明顯，他正在撒謊。