 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
$课文1 逃遁的美洲狮
! g, S% n7 h8 [- f, \1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.0 j" f q; |5 ~/ o
美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物,产于美洲。8 j D, X0 a4 i3 S9 u/ R
2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
* E& H" f$ V7 X+ q' c: j 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。9 ]2 ^5 G2 N9 g$ f; S
3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,$ F" H5 {, V' @
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,0 \& h. k& }! U5 z! z
4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
! ~" ~* M5 T, ~" H+ R+ ~: e2 h1 r 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。
: p5 p& V; h7 @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.
: i2 g- `3 @$ g4 X& l 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,2 i3 S. @$ U) i
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.# t n) |. _* G" o3 T9 c
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。, L& Q6 \1 _3 a3 w
7. The search proved difficult,
# G! I9 B7 {3 w4 {. a 事实上搜寻工作很困难,
( @% ~0 b W; k' J5 X1 h- ~8. for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
( q+ _' C! t6 G2 a6 P 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。7 l6 a' W+ W6 ?
9. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
, I/ d% K+ u' ]2 o* { 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,
3 i% T7 i" S7 R% Y* K10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
* f* z' v' r: u, l$ r: J 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。
2 H0 V6 G" K/ c3 Q11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
/ r1 l7 Q0 ^0 Z6 U 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。
/ o+ Y$ V* t0 y; i9 l2 B/ |5 \12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
$ ?! n/ }* N& H C% V5 |& _ 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?
/ L, t7 e( p3 ~7 k, V8 ~) g13. As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,
" K. N0 ]$ x2 V# p' E% L4 X 由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮,: W3 G( @' y1 {) K
14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.& i; F5 q) Q. a
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。
6 l' n- F) F! c3 p* Q" q' Z15. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.$ |2 l' j- z- S$ 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。
A. l6 ~% u, N* J6 d3 @; ]& O16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.8 P& n2 z* @4 D0 p
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。 |
|