Lesson 1 A puma at large
逃遁的美洲獅
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽(tīng)錄音，然后回答以下問(wèn)題。
Where must the puma have come from?
獅子從何而來(lái)？
Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
美洲獅是一種體形似貓的大動(dòng)物，產(chǎn)于美洲。
When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
當(dāng)倫敦動(dòng)物園接到報(bào)告說(shuō)，在倫敦以南45英里處發(fā)現(xiàn)一只美洲獅時(shí)，這些報(bào)告并沒(méi)有受到重視。
However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,
可是，隨著證據(jù)越來(lái)越多，動(dòng)物園的專(zhuān)家們感到有必要進(jìn)行一番調(diào)查，
for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
因?yàn)榉彩锹暦Q(chēng)見(jiàn)到過(guò)美洲獅的人們所描述的情況竟是出奇地相似。
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.
搜尋美洲獅的工作是從一座小村莊開(kāi)始的。那里的一位婦女在采摘黑莓時(shí)的看見(jiàn)“一只大貓”，離她僅5碼遠(yuǎn)，
It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
她剛看見(jiàn)它，它就立刻逃走了。專(zhuān)家證實(shí)，美洲獅非被逼得走投無(wú)路，是決不會(huì)傷人的。
The search proved difficult,
事實(shí)上搜尋工作很困難，
for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
因?yàn)槌３Ｊ窃绯吭诩椎匕l(fā)現(xiàn)那只美洲獅，晚上卻在20英里外的乙地發(fā)現(xiàn)它的蹤跡。
Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
無(wú)論它走哪兒，一路上總會(huì)留下一串死鹿以及死兔子之類(lèi)的小動(dòng)物。
Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
在許多地方看見(jiàn)了爪印，灌木叢中發(fā)現(xiàn)了粘在上面的美洲獅毛。
Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
有人抱怨說(shuō)夜里聽(tīng)見(jiàn)“像貓一樣的叫聲”；一位商人去釣魚(yú)，看見(jiàn)那只美洲獅在樹(shù)上。
The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
專(zhuān)家們?nèi)缃褚呀?jīng)完全肯定那只動(dòng)物就是美洲獅，但它是從哪兒來(lái)的呢?
As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,
由于全國(guó)動(dòng)物園沒(méi)有一家報(bào)告丟了美洲獅，
this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
因此那只美洲獅一定是某位私人收藏豢養(yǎng)的，不知怎么設(shè)法逃出來(lái)了。
The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
搜尋工作進(jìn)行了好幾個(gè)星期，但始終未能逮住那只美洲獅。
It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
想到在寧?kù)o的鄉(xiāng)村里有一頭危險(xiǎn)的野獸繼續(xù)逍遙流竄，真令人擔(dān)心。
逃遁的美洲獅
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽(tīng)錄音，然后回答以下問(wèn)題。
Where must the puma have come from?
獅子從何而來(lái)？
Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
美洲獅是一種體形似貓的大動(dòng)物，產(chǎn)于美洲。
When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
當(dāng)倫敦動(dòng)物園接到報(bào)告說(shuō)，在倫敦以南45英里處發(fā)現(xiàn)一只美洲獅時(shí)，這些報(bào)告并沒(méi)有受到重視。
However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,
可是，隨著證據(jù)越來(lái)越多，動(dòng)物園的專(zhuān)家們感到有必要進(jìn)行一番調(diào)查，
for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
因?yàn)榉彩锹暦Q(chēng)見(jiàn)到過(guò)美洲獅的人們所描述的情況竟是出奇地相似。
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.
搜尋美洲獅的工作是從一座小村莊開(kāi)始的。那里的一位婦女在采摘黑莓時(shí)的看見(jiàn)“一只大貓”，離她僅5碼遠(yuǎn)，
It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
她剛看見(jiàn)它，它就立刻逃走了。專(zhuān)家證實(shí)，美洲獅非被逼得走投無(wú)路，是決不會(huì)傷人的。
The search proved difficult,
事實(shí)上搜尋工作很困難，
for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
因?yàn)槌３Ｊ窃绯吭诩椎匕l(fā)現(xiàn)那只美洲獅，晚上卻在20英里外的乙地發(fā)現(xiàn)它的蹤跡。
Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
無(wú)論它走哪兒，一路上總會(huì)留下一串死鹿以及死兔子之類(lèi)的小動(dòng)物。
Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
在許多地方看見(jiàn)了爪印，灌木叢中發(fā)現(xiàn)了粘在上面的美洲獅毛。
Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
有人抱怨說(shuō)夜里聽(tīng)見(jiàn)“像貓一樣的叫聲”；一位商人去釣魚(yú)，看見(jiàn)那只美洲獅在樹(shù)上。
The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
專(zhuān)家們?nèi)缃褚呀?jīng)完全肯定那只動(dòng)物就是美洲獅，但它是從哪兒來(lái)的呢?
As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,
由于全國(guó)動(dòng)物園沒(méi)有一家報(bào)告丟了美洲獅，
this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
因此那只美洲獅一定是某位私人收藏豢養(yǎng)的，不知怎么設(shè)法逃出來(lái)了。
The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
搜尋工作進(jìn)行了好幾個(gè)星期，但始終未能逮住那只美洲獅。
It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
想到在寧?kù)o的鄉(xiāng)村里有一頭危險(xiǎn)的野獸繼續(xù)逍遙流竄，真令人擔(dān)心。