Unit1>CaringforOurEarthPassageAFrogStory蛙的故事Acoupleofoddthingshavehappenedlately.最近发生了几桩怪事儿。IhavealogcabininthosewoodsofNorthernWisconsin.Ibuiltitbyhandandalsoaddedagreenhousetothefrontofit.Itisajoytolivein.Infact,Iworkoutofmyhomedoingaudioproductionandenvironmentalwork.AsatoolofthattradeIhaveacomputerandastudio.我在北威斯康星州的树林中有一座小木屋。是我亲手搭建的，前面还有一间花房。住在里面相当惬意。实际上我是在户外做音频制作和环境方面的工作——作为干这一行的工具，我还装备了一间带电脑的工作室。Ialsohaveatreefrogthathastakenupresidenceinmystudio.还有一只树蛙也在我的工作室中住了下来。Howodd,Ithought,lastNovemberwhenIfirstnoticedhimsittingatopmysound-boardovermyfiguredthathe(andIsayhe,thoughIreallydon’thaveaclueifsheisaheorviceversa)wouldbemorecomfortableinthegreenhouse.SoIputhiminthegreenhouse.Backhecame.Andstayed.AfterawhileIgotquiteusedtothefactthatasIwouldcheckmymorningemailandonlinenews,hewouldbetherewithmesurveyingtheworld.去年十一月，我第一次惊讶地发现他（只是这样称呼罢了，事实上我并不知道该称“他”还是“她”）坐在电脑的音箱上。我把他放到花房里去，认为他待在那儿会更舒服一些。可他又跑回来待在原地。很快我就习惯了有他做伴，清晨我上网查收邮件和阅读新闻的时候，他也在一旁关注这个世界。Then,lastweek,ashewasclimbingaroundlookinglikeasmallgray/greenhuman,Istartedtowonderabouthim.可上周，我突然对这个爬上爬下的“小绿人或小灰人”产生了好奇心。So,thereIwas,workinginmystudioandmycomputerwashumminghadtostopwhenTreeFrogwentacrossmystoppedandturnedaroundandjustsattherelookingat,Isatbackandlookedathim.ForfivemonthsnowhehadbeenridingtherewithmeandIwassuddenlyovertakenbyanurgetoknowwhyhewasthereandnotinthegreenhouse,whereIfiguredhe’dliveahappierfroglife.于是有一天，我正在工作室里干活，电脑嗡嗡作响。当树蛙从我面前爬过时，我不得不停止工作。他停下了并转过身来，坐在那儿看着我。好吧，我也干脆停下来望着他。五个月了，他一直这样陪着我。我突然有一股强烈的欲望想了解他：为什么他要待在这儿而不乐意待在花房里我认为对树蛙来说，花房显然要舒适得多。“Whyareyouhere,”Ifoundmyselfaskinghim.“你为什么待在这儿”我情不自禁地问他。AsIlookedathim,deadon,hiseyeslookeddirectlyatmeandIheardatone.Thetoneseemedtohitmerightinthecenterofmymind.Itsoundedverynearlylikethesameoneasmycomputer.InthattoneIcouldhearhim“say”tome,“BecauseIwantyoutounderstand.”Yo.Thatwasweird.“Understandwhat”mymindjumpedin.Then,afteramomentoffeelingthiscommunication,IfeltIunderstoodwhyhewasthere.Icametounderstandthatfrogssimplywanttohearotherfrogsandtocommunicate.Possiblythetoneofmycomputersoundedtohimlikeothertreefrogs.我目不转睛地盯着他，他也直视着我。然后我听到一种叮咚声。这种声音似乎一下子就进入了我的大脑中枢，因为它和电脑里发出来的声音十分接近。在那个声音里我听到树蛙对我“说”：“因为我想让你明白”。唷，太不可思议了。“明白什么”我脑海中突然跳出了这个问题。然后经过短暂的体验这种交流之后，我觉得我已经理解了树蛙待在这儿的原因。我开始理解树蛙只是想听到其他同类的叫声并与之交流。或许他误以为计算机发出的声音就是其他树蛙在呼唤他。Interesting.真是有趣。Ikeptworking.Iwasworkingonastoryaboutglobalclimatechangeandhadjustreceivedafaxfromafriend.Thefaxsaidthattheearthiswarmingatdegreeseachdecade.AtthatrateIknewthatthemapletreesthatIlovetotapeachspringforsyrupwouldnotsurviveformychildren.MybeautifulWisconsinwouldbecomeaprairiebythenextgeneration.我继续工作。我正在写一个关于全球气候变化的故事。有个朋友刚好发过来一份传真，说地球...
