英语博客(A cup of English):032 Daytime visitation.

　　Beginners.
Snow keeps us busy. It needs to be moved and removed. If it is not moved, life becomes difficult. Cars, trucks and buses have difficulty driving along the streets and up the hills if there is too much snow. Around our house the snow builds up higher and higher. A few nights ago it snowed all night. It was silent, beautiful, and non-stop. When we woke up in the morning, we were quite surprised at the height of the white stuff¹. We felt surrounded. After my children went to school, I got out the snow blower to clear the driveway. Usually my husband does that. But, it really needed to be done. I carefully read the instructions and started up the motor. It was noisy, but fast and effective. The whole thing took me about one hour. When I had almost finished, I saw something infront of me. It was a deer. It was very close and looked quite calm. It was a female². It walked past and looked at me. Then it went on its way. What a beautiful surprise on a snowy day.
Grammar notes.
Regular verbs: to remove, to build (up), to snow, to clear, to finish, to look.
Irregular verbs: to have, to become, to wake up, to feel, to do, to take, to go.
Useful vocabulary: busy, difficult, up hill, higher, a few, snow blower, driveway, fast and effective.
Advanced.
Because the snowy Winter lasts for about four months here, animals who normally³ live in the surrounding mountains come down into town to find food. Food is scarce⁴ up in the hills for animals like the deer. It is plentiful⁵ for them, however, in the town. Hedges⁶, bushes and other plants provide all the meals they need for the Winter, plus they have sheltered, wind-free gardens to bed down in. Us gardeners are generally not too happy about our prized plants being gobbled by these night time eaters, but, that's just how it is. Generations of deer have come and gone through this town. They are so plentiful that they actually become a nuissance. As we drive through the snowy neighborhoods, we have to keep a careful watch for deer families crossing the roads. Often, a little one will be found bounding⁸ along a side walk or hesitating right in the middle of the road. The other day, while I was snow blowing our driveway, a doe calmly walked right past me. She completely took me by surprise. She looked as comfortable in the neighborhood as I feel. Off she went, without even checking over her shoulder to see if I was following or could cause a threat. She knew better. I was the one caught off guard. Another magical occurance that comes with the season.
Grammar notes.
Useful vocabulary: snowy, normally, surrounding, scarce, plentiful, sheltered, a nuissance, a doe, a buck⁹.
Verb expressions: to bed down (reg), to be scarce (irreg), to gobble (reg), to keep watch (reg), to bound⁷ along (reg), to take by surprise (irreg), to know better (irreg).

1 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

2 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

3 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

4 scarce   

adj.缺乏的，不足的；稀少的，罕见的

参考例句：

• The food was scarce during the war.战争期间食物短缺。
• This kind of material is rather scarce.这种原料较缺。

5 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

6 hedges   

树篱( hedge的名词复数 )； 保护手段； 防止损失（尤指金钱）的手段

参考例句：

• Farmers often enclose their land with hedges. 农夫们常用树篱将他们的地围起来。
• She came across butchered hedges and flowerbeds choked with weeds. 她发现树篱被糟蹋，花坛里野草丛生。

7 bound   

adj.一定的，必然的；受约束的，有义务的

参考例句：

• I feel honor bound to repay the money I borrowed.我觉得有责任归还我借的钱。
• If he signs that paper,he will be bound hand and foot.如果他签署那份文件，他就会受到束缚。

8 bounding   

v.跳( bound的现在分词 )；弹回；向上弹；向上跳

参考例句：

• The little horse is bounding. 小马在跳跃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Big rocks were bounding down. 巨石从上面滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。