Less on 1 A Puma at large
逃遁的美洲狮
Liste n to the tape the n an swer the questio n below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
Where must the puma have come from?
are large, cat-like ani mals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had bee n spotted 45 miles south of London, they were not taken seriously. However, as the evidenee began to , experts from the Zoo felt to , for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraord inarily similar.
The hunt for the puma bega n in a small village where a woma n pick ing blackberries saw 'a large cat' only 5 yards away from her. It immediately ran away whe n she saw it, and experts con firmed that a puma will not attack a huma n being uni ess it is corn ered. The search proved difficult, for the puma was ofte n observed at one place in the morning and at ano ther place 20 miles away in the evening. Wherever it wen t, it left beh ind it a trail of dead deer and small ani mals like rabbits. Paw prints were see n in a nu mber of places and puma fur was found to bushes. Several people compla ined of 'cat-like no ises' at ni ght and a bus in essma n on a fishi ng trip saw the puma up a tree. The experts were now fully that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from? As no pumas had bee n reported miss ing from any zoo in the coun try, this one must have bee n in the possessi on of a private collector and somehow man aged to escape. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturb ing to think that a dan gerous wild ani mal is still at large in the quiet coun tryside.
参考译文:
美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。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。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，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。
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看见一只大猫”，
离她仅5码远，她刚看见它，它就立刻逃走了。专家证实，美洲狮除非被逼得走投无路，
是决不会伤人的。事实上搜寻工作很困难，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。无论它走到哪儿，一路上总会留下一串死鹿及死兔子
之类的小动物。在许多地方看见了爪印，灌木丛中也发现了粘在上面的美洲狮毛。有人抱怨
说夜里听见了橡猫一样的叫声”；一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。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？由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮，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。搜寻工作进
行了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。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。New words and expressi ons 生词与短语
puma n.美洲狮
spot v.看出，发现
evide nee n.证据
accumulate v.积累，积聚
oblige v.使??…感到必须
hu nt n.追猎；寻找
blackberry n.黑莓
huma n being 人类
corner v.使走投无路，使陷入困境
trail n. 串，系列
print n.印痕
cli ng v.粘
convince v.使??…信服
somehow adv.不知怎么搞地，不知什么原因
disturb v.令人不安
【知识点讲解】
l. spot [ 动词]认出例句：My father spotted several spell ing mistakes in my compositi on. 我父亲在我作文里发现了好几个拼字错误。
2. accumulate ［动词］积累，增加，聚集
常用短语：accumulate (ga in) experie nee
积累(获得)经验
例句：They set to work accumulating a huge mass of data.
他们开始累积大量的资料。
3.oblige ［动词］迫使，责成
一般用被动态。
常用短语：be obliged to do sth.
feel obliged to do sth=feel that you have a duty to do sth
觉得有义务做某事例句：The scandal obliged the minister to resign.
这一丑闻迫使部长辞职。
4. extraordinarily ［副词］非常，特别的
例句：An extraord inarily large order bucked up all the staff.
一份特大订单使全体员工欢欣鼓舞。
词性转换：［形容词］extraordinary
5. confirm ［动词］证实，肯定
例句：The n ews con firmed my resoluti on.
这消息加强了我的决心。
6」eave behi nd 留下，遗留
例句：I left behind my pen in the library yesterday evening.
这消息加强了我的决心。
短语扩展：跟leave有关的短语
leave aside 暂不考虑
leave off 【非正式】停止
leave out 遗漏；漏掉；排除
7.possession [ 名词]所有，占有
例句：The possession of a degree does not guarantee you a job.
拥有一个学位不能保证你找到工作。
【课后作业】
翻译以下三个句子：
1. 她不在的时候灰尘都积了起来。
2. 我不得不放弃那个想法。
3. 我忘了带笔。
【重点词汇】
a trail of
accumulate
be at large
be corn ered
be fully convinced
be spotted
blackberry
cling cling to complain of convince corner disturb evidence feel obliged to human being hunt oblige on a fishing trip prints proved difficult puma run away reports caming to somehow south of london spot trail go on