英语博客：A nocturnal visit by deer.

　　Wow! What a shot! I have been hoping to get a photo or a video of deer to show all of you. This time of year is crazy with the deer coming down from the nearby mountains. They are all over the place, and obviously very comfortable in town. I think the fact that there are orchards¹ here and there in town help. They sleep in the orchards, and have plenty to eat there. Then at night they walk around the neighborhoods, looking for more tasty treats. It just so happens that a favorite spot for some of them is our property! A few years ago, we found three of them sleeping on our back porch! Now, however, we have dogs, so they keep away. The two dogs that we have live in the back garden. It is a large area that is fenced in, ideal for dogs. So now, we don't have any deer visitors in the back garden. Our dogs do, however, alert us as soon as they smell them approach. Infact, they bark like crazy and drive everybody nuts. It doesn't happen during the day, because the deer only come around at night. We have often had to put the dogs in the garage at 3am because of the noise. We don't want to make enemies of our neighbors. I can see that deer have been hanging out in our front yard because there are hoof² prints and droppings everywhere. One of my neighbor friends told me that she saw a large herd³ of deer walk up the road, and settle in my front garden where we have alpine⁴ trees. When I was pulling up to the house the other night, my headlights flashed in the eyes of three deer who were happily munching⁵ away at the plants near my entryway. The dogs were barking, of course, but the deer seemed to know that the noisey want-to-be-wolves couldn't get out. I drove towards the deer very slowly, illuminating⁶ them. Their ears pricked⁷ up and they turned to face me. Then, they gracefully⁸ turned and walked into the darkness. It doesn't happen very much, but when it does, it is so worth watching.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to alert, to drive ...nuts, hoof/ paw prints, a herd.
1. The alarm alerted us to the fire that had started in the kitchen.
2. That music is driving me nuts; can you please turn it down, or off!
3. A good hunter can track an animal by its prints: paw prints for wild cats and bears, and hoof prints for deer, elk⁹, and moose.
4. There are so many names for groups of animals: a herd of cows, a school of fish, a pack of wolves, and a swarm¹⁰ of bees are just a few.

1 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

2 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

5 munching   

v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was munching an apple. 他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果，但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。 来自辞典例句

6 illuminating   

a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的

参考例句：

• We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
• I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

7 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

8 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

9 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

10 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。