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$课文1 逃遁的美洲狮
$ v& \$ Q) W# D/ u1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
' M I; Y% x8 a' k1 D3 e" D% O& k 美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物,产于美洲。
( Z; s3 ^/ E! U2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
" W3 J* F- D" i, s! @/ |2 M \. G 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。
4 h* D5 m- H( n" h3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,9 }: m n6 G- K* S& y Q- c
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,& @6 ^) k' t( L: T
4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
5 y3 m6 @# i+ H7 k j$ h; M 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 `* `8 C6 b. q! B m i5. 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.1 ]5 _4 V. ?, e0 H5 h% a
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,5 F- N4 }3 w. M' [
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.9 B `! e7 d" q* I2 [# [
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。
1 c! Z# [8 O0 }3 d. U! b7. The search proved difficult,& ~. A( F: j- p: ?
事实上搜寻工作很困难,4 a2 i3 K) R x% Y& [1 l
8. for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.2 L- ], {8 L8 C, Y' 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。
( d7 }! N5 D+ K8 J9. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
' V/ Z, u8 F% t 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,
" z( ?9 p0 R8 G' V7 l j10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.8 E, N K4 b& ~4 Q: U# V* U
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。
5 K$ T5 j$ _" {6 Y& d7 |11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
- b7 ^ c. s* a/ i8 t0 Y$ t 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。! C' C- u* Q9 C. s1 o+ t. ^
12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?8 a- z6 ^2 f! l/ c! V8 U1 e
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?4 ^4 k! e6 ]4 O6 N' `% c
13. As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,
5 H1 N3 c5 _* i6 X" Z 由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮,
) L" \0 C2 \7 B c5 t7 y8 p14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
+ j4 y6 d' h# @$ h" ~6 o 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 ?/ `' e' v& I! M( v15. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.$ G! ^" s+ N7 d% G7 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。
8 G" r9 Y7 a$ q- c: l16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.& A6 ^4 J% ]4 ], L i6 H' I& ]9 A
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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