A swan rescue in the city城市中的天鵝拯救行動

溫從秀

鳥類愛好者阿里爾·科爾多瓦·羅哈斯不辭辛勞地救助一只受傷的天鵝，雖然天鵝最終因病毒感染而死亡，但在保護動物方面，人類的腳步不會停歇。

主題語境：人與動物 篇幅：304詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1 When Ariel Cordova?Rojas rode her bike to JamaicaBay Wildlife Refuge in Queens， New York last November，she planned to go hiking and birdwatching. Bingo！A mile into her walk， she spotted a gorgeous femaleswan near the water's edge. Cordova?Rojas， 30， whohad worked at the Wild Bird Fund care center in Manhattan，knew that swans can be aggressive. But as she approached this one， it didntmove.

2 She was certain that the bird needed medical attention. Cordova?Rojas wrapped herjacket around the bird's head to keep it calm， carefully picked it up and cradled it inher arms. And then a thought struck her： What should I do now？

3 Her best bet was the care center， but that was across the East River and clearly on theother side of town. How was she going to transport a 17?pound swan on her bike all thatway？ Luckily， some strangers driving by offered her， her bike and the swan a lift to anearby subway station.

4 On the subway， no one seemed particularly disturbed by the feathered passenger.“ Oneguy，” says Cordova?Rojas，“ was sitting right in front of me on his phone. I don't know if he noticed there was a swan in front of him.” And then the animal?care manager pickedher up at the subway station. There， staff members determined that the swan mighthave lead poisoning， caused by eating weights used on fishing lines.

5 The staff got the swan back up on its feet. It even made a boyfriend at the center—anotherinjured swan. Sadly， the swan got a bacterial infection later. Two months afterCordova?Rojas came to her rescue， it passed away.

6 It's a disappointing ending， but the real story is just how far some people are willing togo to save a swan in the big city literally.

Reading Check

Ⅰ. Multiple choice

Detail

1. Why did Cordova?Rojas determine the swan needed medical care？

A. The swan was too aggressive.

B. She injured the swans feet badly.

C. The swan stayed still when she got closer.

D. She had worked at the Wild Bird Fund care center.

Detail

2. What was the passengers reaction to the swan on the subway？

A. He felt disturbed by the swan.

B. He was sitting on pins and needles.

C. He paid little attention to the swan.

D. He was surprised at the swans presence.

Detail

3. What directly led to the swans death？

A. The illness caused by bacteria.

B. The fishing lines eaten by the swan.

C. The serious injury of its feet.

D. The poisonous lead contained in weights.

Inference

4. What was the authors feeling about the final result？

A. Excited. B. Threatened.

C. Nervous. D. Disappointed.

Ⅱ. Critical thinking

Do you think its proper to take a swan or other wildlife to a subway or other public?transportation？ Why？

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Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

There， staff members determined that the swan might have lead poisoning， caused byeating weights used on fishing lines. 在那兒，工作人員確定這只天鵝可能是由于吞食了釣魚線上使用的鉛墜而導致鉛中毒。

【點石成金】本句中，that 引導的從句作動詞determined 的賓語；過去分詞短語caused by eating weights used on fishing lines 作lead poisoning 的后置定語，相當于which was caused by eating weights used on fishing lines。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

pick up 拾起

in front of 在……的前面

come to ones rescue 援救某人

pass away 死去；去世

be willing to do 愿意做……