新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课1

ltlong52010

$课文1  逃遁的美洲狮
3 L' R1 B4 C5 q# \& ^1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
, u5 R5 @; R+ ^: q# W3 ~        美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。
0 n( O) w" w0 j, {2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
& w2 a  C4 x" P, V9 w" |6 o' ~        当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦以南45英里处发现一只美洲狮时，这些报告并没有受到重视。
3 c2 }0 F( u% D3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,
' ?1 @. \& L% D        可是，随着证据越来越多，动物园的专家们感到有必要进行一番调查，
' @2 C+ i7 C5 D2 M# ]2 j% q3 D, x4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
        因为凡是声称见到过美洲狮的人们所描述的情况竟是出奇地相似。
5. The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw 'a large cat' only five yards away from her.
        搜寻美洲狮的工作是从一座小村庄开始的。那里的一位妇女在采摘黑莓时的看见“一只大猫”，离她仅5码远，
7 g! D$ ]- }0 J8 P6. 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。
, R1 j$ f5 F% r2 |( T3 }) T7. The search proved difficult,
        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.
2 f# ]' |4 T6 {! 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。
9. 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，
; k* ^- m6 u, l3 j1 ?6 j10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
& w1 n, }' \4 g        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。
; |6 H1 @1 ]; Y1 e1 J& [# v11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
        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。
12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
+ B8 w/ i8 U: l( @" h6 S  h        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?
- N- Q  o0 {. P& ~- O4 N13. 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，
9 I1 [0 n& o0 z' f$ m. e14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
        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.
) |3 q1 a, z0 x( s        搜寻工作进行了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。
! _* ^) \" a8 t8 X9 g) r16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
. X' ?6 f! A+ I/ i* N9 e  ~* [        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。