文学_英语短篇阅读美文

英语短篇阅读美文

A Bad Day at Work【1】

Once upon a time there was a baby eagle living in a nest perched on a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley with waterfalls and streams, trees and lots of little animals, scurrying1 about enjoying their lives.

The baby eagle liked the nest. It was the only world he had ever known. It was warm and comfortable, had a great view, and even better, he had all the food and love and attention that a great mother eagle could provide. Many times each day the mother would swoop2 down from the sky and land in the nest and feed the baby eagle delicious morsels3 of food. She was like a god to him, he had no idea where she came from or how she worked her magic.

The baby eagle was hungry all the time, but the mother eagle would always come just in time with the food and love and attention he craved4. The baby eagle grew strong. His vision grew very sharp. He felt good all the time.

Until one day, the mother stopped coming to the nest.

The baby eagle was hungry. "Im sure to die," said the baby eagle, all the time.

"Very soon, death is coming," he cried, with tears streaming down his face. Over and over. But there was no one there to hear him.

Then one day the mother eagle appeared at the top of the mountain cliff, with a big bowl of delicious food and she looked down at her baby. The baby looked up at the mother and cried "Why did you abandon me? Im going to die any minute. How could you do this to me?"

The mother said, "Here is some very tasty and nourishing food, all you have to do is come get it."

"Come get it!" said the baby, with much anger. "How?"

The mother flew away.

The baby cried and cried and cried.

A few days later, "Im going to end it all," he said. "I give up. It is time for me to die."

He didnt know his mother was nearby. She swooped5 down to the nest with his last meal.

"Eat this, its your last meal," she said.

The baby cried, but he ate and whined6 and whined about what a bad mother she was.

"Youre a terrible mother," he said. Then she pushed him out of the nest.

He fell.

Head first.

Picked up speed.

Faster and faster.

He screamed. "Im dying Im dying," he cried. He picked up more speed.

He looked up at his mother. "How could you do this to me?"

He looked down.

The ground rushed closer, faster and faster. He could visualize7 his own death so clearly, coming so soon, and cried and whined and complained. "This isnt fair!" he screamed.

Something strange happens.

The air caught behind his arms and they snapped away from his body, with a feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced. He looked down and saw the sky. He wasnt moving towards the ground anymore, his eyes were pointed8 up at the sun.

"Huh?" he said. "What is going on here!"

"Youre flying," his mother said.

"This is fun!" laughed the baby eagle, as he soared and dived and swooped.

"Yes it is!" said the mother.

The Baby Eagle【2】

Rob is a commercial saturation1 diver for Global Divers2 in Louisiana. He performs underwater repairs on offshore3 drilling rigs.