Life in a bubble to get closer to elephants (part I)

Melissa Klurman

題材體裁 篇幅 建議用時369詞 7分鐘旅行 記敘文

難詞探意

1.sanctuary/'s??kt?u?ri/n.鳥獸保護區；禁獵區

2.paddy /'p?di/ n.稻田；水田

3.snort /sn??t/ v.用鼻子哼

4.shuffle /'??fl/ v.拖著腳走

5.munch/m?nt?/v.用力咀嚼；大聲咀嚼

On the far northern border of Thailand, there's an attractive jungle where you can sleep right in the middle of an elephantsanctuary.I tried it, and it was life-changing.

I've been fascinated by elephants since I wasa child.And as an adult, I've been able to go on safari in Africa and spy them from the safety of a safari car.But it's been my longtime wish to visit the conservation area of the Golden Triangle to get up closer to the elephants here.I was excited about being in a jungle paradise with these intelligent giants, but then I discovered the just-opened Jungle Bubbles and jumped at the chance to spend sundown to sunup with massive elephants as my nighttime companions.

At 5 pm, I was driven to a well-tended ricepaddyhidden in the shadows of the hotel.Then, I was led along a stone stepping path, and there they were: the Jungle Bubbles.There were two large bubbles and I stayed in one of them.About 100 yards away, another lucky hotel guest would occupy the other.There was complete privacy with a wooden fence, and all I saw and heard were elephants.

Three enormous elephants were close enough so that I could hear them breathing,snorting,shuffling, andmunching.Elephants, it seems, never sleep.Well, they actually get two or three hours a night, and according to scientists, they may lie down for an hour every few days, but realistically,they don't really stop.Nothing is more fascinating than watching elephants undisturbed for such a long time.

When my guide left, it was 5：30 pm.It was still warm, and the light was golden.It was a perfect moment for pictures! I was as giddy as a kid opening presents on Christmas morning when I took pictures of the elephants standing just a few yards away.

It was amazingly relaxing here.The only thing I had to do is watch elephants.I grabbed a beer out of my mini-fridge and watched as the three elephants that would be my neighbors in the evening played in a mud hole that they had been expanding deeper and deeper for the past half hour.

Reading Check

1.What can we know about the Jungle Bubbles?

A.There are three bubbles in the jungle in all.

B.There was no privacy in the bubbles.

C.Elephants can sleep in the bubbles, too.

D.People in the bubbles can see elephants freely.

2.What's the author's attitude to the Thailand jungle in the text?

A.Neutral. B.Ambiguous.

C.Satisfied. D.Confused.

3.What can be inferred about elephants from paragraph 4?

A.Elephants prefer to stay alone.

B.Elephants often sleep for a short period.

C.Elephants usually sleep for a long time at night.

D.Elephants are satisfied with their surroundings.

4.What does the underlined word “giddy” mean in paragraph 5?

A.Excited. B.Curious.

C.Frightened. D.Calm.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

I've been fascinated by elephants since I was a child.當我還是個孩子時，我就對大象非常著迷。

【信息提取】在本句中，since意為“自……以來”，引導時間狀語從句，從句中常用一般過去時，主句常用現在完成時。 be fascinated by...意為“對……著迷”。

【句式仿寫】自從我來到這個學校以來，我在英語學習上取得了巨大的進步。