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$课文1 逃遁的美洲狮
& V) f8 Q. G; P1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
. f% ^0 p- g. H1 m. i( L: \: @6 P 美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物,产于美洲。
5 j+ F1 F, q! d( O, O3 |: g* ? A2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.) ^$ ^, {9 ^+ Z6 m$ J2 n: e
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。
- w2 S# M* g0 P3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,- S1 v; d: }3 S6 B# S
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,
1 z' \5 s2 X8 j; ]8 E# C, d4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
2 s1 g; C0 Z+ A- E2 I$ p b3 ^) w% E 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。
6 Y9 x% l" K* P! ]- @2 n. V5. 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.
# _) \& [' S& Y _- l- R 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,+ r2 v! I- c9 n, o* ?9 z
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.+ I3 B2 Y# o2 N; A: ^) L0 |
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。
9 a3 x9 ?0 I8 Y6 o0 O+ E5 h, \ M7. The search proved difficult,3 C- h# N3 j% M1 R6 m3 B; H% v/ |
事实上搜寻工作很困难,
t" x. t$ j3 S! h0 c8. for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.+ Y0 n% |! R: A+ M2 D4 b+ T* Y4 h! _
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 u# S; @8 |2 l* g; _/ ^) j0 v: r9. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits." e" e% ^) N. y. j3 L
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,
1 T6 p2 H; y) f' ~. w2 E10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
. H* g5 [: `$ ~( s+ m) a9 S# I7 K 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。, a3 l$ q6 u$ \. g& z; }
11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.3 l: V" e4 y7 ^! Q
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。9 N4 ^+ y2 C0 n& n9 L
12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?' b5 T: h1 t) o- Y T
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?
9 @% s+ Y5 s, c8 U s3 K1 P$ {13. As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,
1 ~: s( ]$ J! I1 J$ V 由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮,
4 G J4 h L/ C. Y/ W; L14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.9 y" J! L/ P p# \4 ?
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。
$ L, w" V; ?% T ^" O2 V1 N) T6 t8 _15. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.# z. h( ]0 _6 o2 l7 { j, K, d
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* e q2 \( k7 F0 j16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.4 y3 T0 b, p; E/ Q2 W0 |
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。 |
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