可愛海豹搭“順風車”

山東 孫啟祿

在英國西薩塞克斯郡，當沖浪者們在游玩時，一只好奇的海豹爬上槳板“搭便車”，和大家一起順流而下。

題材動物體裁記敘文文章詞數 難度 建議用時302 ★★ 5 分鐘

When wild animals come near to someone while they're enjoying time in nature, the typical advice is to avoid interacting with them and respect that humans are visitors in their space.But what if they are very friendly and decide to say hi?

That's exactly what happened to Daren Ford and Kerrie Rocket when they were hanging out on paddleboards (槳板) in West Sussex, England, one day. They had no idea that they were being followed by a curious seal until he plopped himself on a board and joined them for a ride! Apparently, the little guy is well-known in the area where Daren and Kerrie were. In fact, he's so popular that he's even been given a name: Gavin.

Since Kerrie and Daren had never come across Gavin before, they were a little scared when he first hopped on Daren's board. In a video of the meeting, Daren jokingly says, “If he bites my toe, I'm jumping in.” Of course, Gavin wasn't trying to hurt anyone! He just lounged (懶洋洋地躺著) around with Daren until he decided it was time to try Kerrie's board instead. Without any hesitation, the cute seal slipped into the water and helped himself to a new seat. And he just kept going! “To our amazement, the seal just started going from one board to another, jumping on and relaxing,” Kerrie said.

None of the humans knew quite what to do until they had some time to process the meeting. “It was an amazing experience, but it never really sank in until we got home and realized how rarely this actually happens,” she added.

What a lucky group! We're so glad that they got to see the wonder that is Gavin and ended up sharing it with the world!

Reading Check

1. What are people advised to do when meeting with animals in nature?

A. Run away immediately.

B. Make contact with them.

C. Avoid disturbing them.

D. Do anything as you please.

2. When did Daren and Kerrie realize they were being followed by the seal?

A. When the seal was chasing them.

B. When the seal dived into the water.

C. When the seal was swimming in the water.

D. When the seal jumped onto their paddleboards.

3. How did Kerrie and Daren feel when Gavin went from one board to another?

A. Pleased. B. Curious.

C. Surprised. D. Frightened.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

When wild animals come near to someone while they're enjoying time in nature, the typical advice is to avoid interacting with them and respect that humans are visitors in their space. 當人們在享受大自然時，野生動物接近我們，典型的建議是避免與它們互動，尊重人類是它們空間的訪客這一事實。

【點石成金】本句是一個含有時間狀語從句的復合句。 the typical advice is...in their space是主句部分，后面的動詞不定式短語作表語，that引導的是賓語從句；when和while引導的都是時間狀語從句。