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1、 新概念英语第三册 A Puma at largelisten to the tape then answer the question below.听录音，然后答复以下问题。Where must the puma have come from? Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted 45 miles south of London, they were not taken
2、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. The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw ”a lar
3、ge cat” only 5 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 20 miles away in the eveni
4、ng. 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. Several people complained of ”cat-like noises” at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree. The e
5、xperts 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
6、was not caught. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside. 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英里处发觉一只美洲狮时，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展一番调查，由于但凡声称见到过美洲狮的人们所描述的状况竟是特别地相像。 搜寻美洲狮的工作是从一座小村庄开头的。那里的一位妇女在采摘黑莓时观察“一只大猫”，离她仅5码远，她刚观察它，它
7、就立即逃走了。专家证明，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，由于经常是早晨在甲地发觉那只美洲狮，晚上却在20英里外的乙地发觉它的踪迹。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。在很多地方观察了爪印，灌木丛中也发觉了粘在上面的美洲狮毛。有人埋怨说夜里听见了“像猫一样的叫声”；一位商人去钓鱼，观察那只美洲狮在树上。专家们如今已经完全确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，因此那只美洲狮肯定是某位私人保藏豢养的，不知怎么设法逃出来了。搜寻工作进展了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。想到在安静的乡村里有一头危急的野兽连续逍遥流窜，真令人担忧。 New words and expressions 生词与短语 puma n. 美洲狮 spot v. 看出，发觉 evidence n. 证据 accumulate v. 积存，积聚 oblige v. 使感到必需 hunt n. 追猎；查找 blackberry n. 黑莓 human being 人类 corner v. 使走投无路，使陷入逆境 trail n. 一串，一系列 print n. 印痕 cling v. 粘 convince v. 使信服 somehow adv. 不知怎么搞地，不知什么缘由 disturb v. 令人担心
