新概念英语第三册私人珍藏版Lesson1Apumaatlarge逃遁的美洲狮样稿.doc

Lesson 1 A puma at large 逃遁美洲狮
一、【Text】课文
Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
 美洲狮是一个体形似猫大动物，产于美洲。当伦敦动物园接到汇报说，在伦敦以南45英里处发觉一只美洲狮时，这些汇报并没有受到重视。
可是，伴随证据越来越多，动物园教授们感到有必需进行一番调查，因为通常声称见到过美洲狮大家所描述情况竟是出奇地相同。
The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw 'a large cat' only five yards away from her. It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
搜寻美洲狮工作是从一座小村庄开始。那里一位妇女在采摘黑莓时看见“一只大猫”，离她仅5码远，她刚看见它，它就立即逃走了。教授证实，美洲狮非被逼得走投无路，是决不会伤人。
实际上搜寻工作很困难，因为常常是早晨在甲地发觉那只美洲狮，晚上却在20英里外乙地发觉它踪迹。不管它走哪儿，一路上总会留下一串死鹿及死兔子之类小动物，在很多地方看见爪印，灌木丛中发觉了粘在上面美洲狮毛。
Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
 有些人埋怨说夜里听见“像猫一样叫声”；一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。教授们现在已经完全肯定那只动物就是美洲狮，但它是从哪儿来呢？
因为全国动物园没有一家汇报丢了美洲狮，所以那只美洲狮一定是某位私人收藏豢养，不知怎么设法逃出来了。搜寻工作进