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Plunk! I dropped another pecan(山核桃) into my basket. Then a gentle autumn
wind blew some more off the tree. I ran to pick them up. Picking pecans was hard. My
basket was only half full.
I was visiting my grandpa's farm, and Grandpa sent me into the woods to pick
pecans for us to enjoy later. I wasn't about to let him down.
Then something caught my eye: a squirrel picked up a pecan, climbed up a tree
and disappeared into a large hole. Not so secret any more, I thought. I ran over to the
tree and found the hole was filled with sweet pecans. They were right there for the taking.
This was my chance. Handful(一把) by handful, I took all the pecans from the hole.
Now the basket was full!
I was so proud of myself. I couldn't wait to show Grandpa all of the pecans I'd
collected.
"Look, Grandpa!" I shouted. "Look at all of the pecans I found!"
Grandpa took a look at my basket. "Well, how did you find so many, Jimmy?" I
told him I followed the squirrel and took the pecans from his hiding place. Grandpa
congratulated me on finding out something about the squirrel's habits. Then he did
something that surprised me. He handed the basket back to me and put his arm gently
around my shoulders.
"That squirrel worked very hard to collect his winter food," he said. "If all of his
pecans are gone, don't you think that little squirrel will be very hungry when it gets
cold?"
"I didn't think about that," I said.
"I know," Grandpa said. "But a good man should never take advantage of
someone else's hard work, even the squirrel's."
Suddenly I felt ashamed. The image of that hungry squirrel wouldn't leave my mind.
There was only one thing I could do.
词汇
disappear /ˌdɪsəˈpɪə(r)/ vi. 消失,不见
congratulate /kənˈɡrætʃəleɪt/ vt. 祝贺
congratulate sb on sth 因某事而祝贺某人
advantage /ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ/ n. 有利条件
take advantage of 利用
ashamed /əˈʃeɪmd/ adj. 惭愧,羞愧
image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ n. 形象
句型
1. I wasn't about to let him down.我不会让他失望的。
let sb down 意为"让某人失望"。
2. If all of his pecans are gone, don't you think that little squirrel will be very hungry
when it gets cold?如果他所有的山核桃都不见了,你不觉得小松鼠在天冷的时候
会挨饿吗?
理解
1. How did the writer find the squirrel's secret?

2. What do you think the writer would do in the end?

1. He saw a squirrel pick up a pecan, climb up a tree and disappear into a large hole. Then he ran over to the tree and found the hole was filled with sweet pecans.
2. He would return all the pecans to the squirrel's hole.

1. 根据文章第三段内容，作者看到一只松鼠捡起一颗山核桃，爬上树并钻进一个大洞里，随后他跑到树旁，发现洞里装满了香甜的山核桃，由此发现了松鼠的秘密。2. 从文章结尾作者感到羞愧，结合爷爷教导的不能利用他人（包括松鼠）的辛勤劳动，可推断作者最后会把所有山核桃放回松鼠的洞里。