Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 34 · Tracks beside the River
Audio track 34
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
After the rain, we found small tracks in the soft ground beside the river. My friend said, “A fox was here!” I wanted to believe him, but the marks were not clear enough for me to tell.
We took a photograph with a ruler beside one track. We did not touch the place where the prints continued into the grass. At home, we compared our picture with a local nature guide. Two animals had similar footprints, so we wrote, “A small animal walked here.”
That answer felt less exciting than “a fox,” but it was more honest. We returned a week later, hoping to find a clearer clue. The river had changed again, and the rain had erased the old tracks.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
雨后，我们在河边松软的地面上发现一串小脚印。朋友说：‘狐狸来过！’我也愿意相信，可痕迹并不够清晰，不能让我确定是什么动物。
我们把尺子放在一枚脚印旁，拍了照片，没有去碰延伸到草丛里的其他脚印。回家后，我们拿照片和本地自然图鉴对照，发现有两种动物的脚印很相似。于是，我们只写下：‘一只小动物曾从这里走过。’
这个答案不如‘狐狸’激动人心，却更诚实。一周后，我们再去河边，想找更清楚的线索。河岸又变了，雨水也抹去了先前的脚印。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- track
- 踪迹、脚印；雨后留在河边。
- soft ground
- 松软的土地；容易留下足迹。
- fox
- 狐狸；朋友猜测的动物。
- mark
- 痕迹；形状不够清楚。
- ruler
- 尺子；拍照时提供大小参照。
- 印迹；足迹延伸进草丛。
- compare
- 比较；把照片和图鉴对照。
- footprint
- 足迹；两种动物的足迹很相似。
- honest
- 诚实的；不把猜测当作结论。
- erase
- 抹去；雨水冲掉旧脚印。
Background notes (Chinese)
辨认动物足迹需要清晰的形状、大小和周边线索。小组用尺子作比例尺拍照，再与图鉴比较；证据不足时采用较宽泛的表述，更符合观察结果。