Phoebe Snetsinger had just returned from a trip to Alaska when her doctors told her that she had cancer. She had less than a year to live. Phoebe was 50. As soon as she heard the 1 , she decided to spend the rest of her life doing what she loved most—watching birds.
She immediately went off to some of the world's most amazing natural places. Her 2 were very hard. But Phoebe surprised her doctors and her family as she carried on travelling. A year came and went, and she was still 3 . She was doing something that she loved and that helped her to be healthy for another ten 4 .
The cancer came back, but even then Phoebe Snetsinger decided not to 5 . At the age of 61, when she had seen 7,530 species (物种), she was named "the world's leading bird spotter (观察者)".
In Missouri, Phoebe 6 a group of people who were interested in birds and plants around the Mississippi River. She became very worried about 7 and its bad influence on the environment. "We have to protect nature," she said. "If we don't, people won't be able to enjoy 8 these beautiful birds in the future."
Sadly, when Phoebe was 68, she died in a car accident. Four years later, the American Birding Association 9 her memoirs (回忆录), Birding on Borrowed Time. Many people have enjoyed reading this 10 book. It isn't just a story about a bird spotter's travels, but a touching human record of how her hobby helped her to live much longer than expected.
