新概念英语3--（一天学一篇）---课1

ltlong52010

$课文1  逃遁的美洲狮
1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
        美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。
& ]0 I( m8 p: j9 b: s8 Z2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
        当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦以南45英里处发现一只美洲狮时，这些报告并没有受到重视。
: k$ `; \9 j4 b( b. ^3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,
        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 u/ o* d; v4 L# L4 n  D4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
: w/ u4 ]4 C# i' _7 Z        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.
% N0 _/ E, u& 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，
6 F' O8 p) B9 B! K  O! D/ ^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.
1 f: p$ D+ Z/ `! X6 h$ i3 t% o        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。
7. The search proved difficult,
        事实上搜寻工作很困难，
) a3 m5 t$ N* B5 F! T. S" S- p8 }& b8. for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
/ m0 {7 v2 z7 M9 |& G3 i- I        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。
( [3 O+ s( z- T4 f8 P9. 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，
! w) l  M0 E' A% M# ?10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
        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 O" u9 m% Q& Z0 c2 d" J0 M, ^11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
6 j/ r* e" K" w) |+ Y! D  c        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。
! J  W$ Z1 w- p. z. j, O12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
* O; U0 j6 [+ x: h. O2 U8 a& w        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?
: z' W; y4 c& s13. 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，
0 K* R- K& [/ y" S+ Z8 [% Y14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
3 ~, I& \3 T( O3 o& b: z        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。
9 i+ I! c# {" {! i, f15. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
7 }) j! b' F( S) q+ c        搜寻工作进行了好几个星期，但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。
# O4 C; ~+ l7 S0 ]16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
/ B- ~  s! R% |        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。