A swan rescue in the city城市中的天鹅拯救行动

温从秀

鸟类爱好者阿里尔·科尔多瓦·罗哈斯不辞辛劳地救助一只受伤的天鹅，虽然天鹅最终因病毒感染而死亡，但在保护动物方面，人类的脚步不会停歇。

主题语境：人与动物 篇幅：304词 建议用时：6分钟

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，工作人员确定这只天鹅可能是由于吞食了钓鱼线上使用的铅坠而导致铅中毒。

【点石成金】本句中，that 引导的从句作动词determined 的宾语；过去分词短语caused by eating weights used on fishing lines 作lead poisoning 的后置定语，相当于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……