新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课1

ltlong52010

$课文1  逃遁的美洲狮
. j1 u! M& b9 o4 a9 V8 F1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
        美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。
2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
+ R( B" G& W6 ?, w1 Z        当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦以南45英里处发现一只美洲狮时，这些报告并没有受到重视。
& J7 h1 g7 z& t3 j* X3 d* e3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,
        可是，随着证据越来越多，动物园的专家们感到有必要进行一番调查，
* B% M9 ]+ j  s5 o4 n4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
' p3 b/ |  I: i% h        因为凡是声称见到过美洲狮的人们所描述的情况竟是出奇地相似。
5. The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw 'a large cat' only five yards away from her.
        搜寻美洲狮的工作是从一座小村庄开始的。那里的一位妇女在采摘黑莓时的看见“一只大猫”，离她仅5码远，
6 M4 m' _) [* x$ t' I5 ]6. It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
        她刚看见它，它就立刻逃走了。专家证实，美洲狮非被逼得走投无路，是决不会伤人的。
7. The search proved difficult,
+ `9 V+ w, d6 V+ _$ \2 R) }% a; }        事实上搜寻工作很困难，
8. for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
8 x. d# }5 k. ~* `" B4 g  n; z* w        因为常常是早晨在甲地发现那只美洲狮，晚上却在20英里外的乙地发现它的踪迹。
. u$ H/ H7 F% r: Q$ T6 ~  k/ S1 x, N9. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
        无论它走哪儿，一路上总会留下一串死鹿及死兔子之类的小动物，
& c9 I3 |/ r7 U8 U$ ]$ ]9 k10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
5 `! {; Y- h$ I3 K        在许多地方看见爪印，灌木丛中发现了粘在上面的美洲狮毛。
1 D' [8 g; N0 M11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
4 \$ V# ^2 C; r% k: V# A8 M+ i        有人抱怨说夜里听见“像猫一样的叫声”；一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。
) _! B1 Q. @( O12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
        专家们如今已经完全肯定那只动物就是美洲狮，但它是从哪儿来的呢?
+ z" Z5 l/ S& Z: l# \8 O3 H* h13. As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,
        由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮，
5 H& y: K3 Q; r+ W3 f4 P; j14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
/ K8 ^! ]  a+ S. \. U  N( M        因此那只美洲狮一定是某位私人收藏豢养的，不知怎么设法逃出来了。
15. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
9 ~% j  A5 W$ _! j        搜寻工作进行了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。
( O- b' ?. W9 P6 J$ a% o6 g! `6 U+ ~. L16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
; g/ g+ R) ]% C* E0 p, x5 l8 H        想到在宁静的乡村里有一头危险的野兽继续逍遥流窜，真令人担心。