The overall structure of the article:
I. In his first six months in England, the 12-year-old American boy enjoyed the woods and farms there, but avoided making friends for fear that ________________________________. (paras. 1-3)
II. The boy made the best friend in the world. (paras. 4-35)
A. How the boy and an old woman, Mrs. Robertson-Glasgow, met and became friends. (paras. 4-23)
B. How their friendship grow, and __________ each of them. (paras. 24-27)
C. How the boy took the old woman's ___________. (paras. 28-35)
III. Friendship is possible between very different people. (paras. 36-37)
Think about the following questions. You might be asked to answer some of them when we have the online class through QQ.
Where did the boy Michael come from? How did he get to England?
Did he make many friends there? Why did he like to keep to himself?
In the beginning of the story, what did Bear Wood mean to the little boy?
How did they react to their surprise encounter differently? How did the author's description achieve that surprising effect?
In para.11, the owls are "introduced", "not native". What is indicated here?
What was the woman's house like?
What was inside her house that filled the boy with admiration?
What did the friendship bring to them respectively?
Compare the two sentences in para.26 and 27: "… she was growing frailer and less inclined to laugh." "I began to grow quickly. I played soccer and made a good friend." What is implied here?
10. How did he learn the news of her death?
11. Why does the image of "the biscuit tin" reoccur so many times in the last part of the story?
12. How did he react to the news?
13. What is the seen, the unseen?
14. What are things that change and what are changeless?
15.What is the “wisdom of Bear Wood”?
