二十年后，暖心归来

伊楠

当两只成年鹅丢下它们的小鹅时，这家人决定抚养它。一场意外，让这只长大的鹅飞走了……

难词探意

1. gosling /·g·zl··/ n. 小鹅;幼鹅

2. latrine /l··tri：n/ n. 厕所;（尤指）茅坑;便坑

3. flock /|fl·k/ n. 群

4. crave /kre·v/ v. 渴望;热望

Many years ago， when I was a boy around seven years old， my parents， sister， brother， and I were coming back from a Tball 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 small gosling. The adults were frightened of our return and flew away， but their baby was still too young to fly and couldnt 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， its parents kept coming back to our yard to claim him. The young gosling wouldnt 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 a latrine. My dad would spray off all the goose droppings daily. One evening， my uncle came over， and my dad wanted to show him Peepers 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 didnt come back. We hoped he found a flock and went 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 family home. Geese love houses with large， green lawns to eat on. 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 wasnt a random goose. He did all of the same things Peeper used to， like trying to come in through the front door and sleeping in our enclosed pool area. In addition to mimicking Peepers old ways， this goose also responded to the name Peeper. Much to my amazement， my old best 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. People crave connection 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 separating from its parents·

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

5. What did the author learn from 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 is/was clear that...意為“很明显……”，其中clear还可用evident和obvious替代。

【句式仿写】很明显，他正在撒谎。