중학교 영어 2 (천재교과서 이상기) 연계 글

Goldie was a small orange goldfish which lived in a tank in Ms. Yoon's classroom. Minjae was the student who fed her one spoonful of food every morning. A jar of fish food usually lasted a month. In October, however, a new jar was half empty after only ten days. Ms. Yoon asked Minjae, "Are you giving her extra food?" He shook his head.

Hayul and Theo, who sat next to the tank, decided to solve the mystery. First, they listed everyone who came into the room. Mr. Baek, who cleaned the school, came in every evening at seven. The chess club used the room after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every afternoon before they went home, Hayul and Theo drew a line on the jar at the level of the food. Every morning, they checked the line before Minjae fed Goldie.

After a week, their notes showed a clear pattern. On most mornings, the food was still at the line. On Wednesday and Friday mornings, however, it was far below the line.

The next Thursday, Theo went back to the classroom at five for his umbrella. Outside the door, he heard people laughing and heard the lid of the jar click. Inside, several students were playing chess. He saw Goldie swimming fast near the top of the water. Hayul remembered another clue. She had often noticed Goldie swim up to the glass and open her mouth whenever someone walked past.

Now the two detectives knew where the extra food was going, but they did not want to blame anyone. Instead, they made a chart which had a box for each day, and they taped it to the tank. It said, "Please check the box after you feed Goldie." They also put a copy on the shelf where the chess club kept its boards. Since then, the food has gone down by only one spoonful a day.