后院猫头鹰带来笑容

四川 张世玉

主题语境：人与动物 篇幅：305词 建议用时：6分钟

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(鸟类的)“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.因为这（自然）在所有这些混乱开始之前就已经存在了很长时间，我想这表明，一切都会开始复苏并恢复正常。

【点石成金】该句为主从复合句，主句为I guess it shows that...normal，主句中that引导宾语从句作shows的宾语，且宾语从句中含and连接的there be句型和一个简单句；从句为because引导的原因状语从句，其中又包含一个before引导的时间状语从句。