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$课文1 逃遁的美洲狮
t- P5 |% S3 Y6 U1. Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
9 W; I3 c A6 ~ T/ k) F4 P O2 N 美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大动物,产于美洲。
3 m7 r5 R5 z; C0 k" k/ u4 N2 P" t2. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.* y4 \1 e; V; Y: m0 |( h9 F
当伦敦动物园接到报告说,在伦敦以南45英里处发现一只美洲狮时,这些报告并没有受到重视。
' t# A" d2 E8 y9 K+ P/ ?- ? ]3. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,
( ^( V" x, z/ ?$ 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,
( M" `+ Q* j+ ^% @4. for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.8 w6 c) ]2 k3 d0 R( H) A
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。
2 W$ `$ J" H6 q5. 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.
% b/ e3 J- S7 |6 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,+ N6 A+ B$ s, F
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./ L8 u1 H$ C* n9 |' V
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。0 \# W4 M( o( r) Y7 q1 Z
7. The search proved difficult,- m9 x' j: [" c; ~$ V8 J2 B5 [; S& G6 c
事实上搜寻工作很困难,
& W$ f( `! D% E2 F8. for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.8 B7 A' I7 ?% ]+ p0 m
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。
. z! Y8 ^/ n/ h" v& F- N& W9. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
. Q% T, R; r- R; ]* _) B 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,
5 n8 Q/ g8 j. y, y; X: u- L3 P( C10. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
/ e7 u. o7 J" e. f% c 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。
6 R0 B/ |+ v: ^5 K- p+ j' w11. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
* L$ y7 H6 }& ]* u: [! e1 d 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。
# |" v; U* s0 x( l, B( ]12. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?6 r ^& w8 |& m* H
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' O- g! E5 A7 U
13. As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country,2 A: m- G* }/ h! T) o1 t
由于全国动物园没有一家报告丢了美洲狮,5 Q3 Z: B- K' h3 ~! V; b2 X7 Z6 u1 O
14. this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.7 X0 u. z6 Z$ c6 [
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。8 O9 S0 m0 r( s) H
15. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
O/ ^- f+ Q" ]1 M$ t% B 搜寻工作进行了好几个星期,但始终未能逮住那只美洲狮。& e7 ^: _& G0 Y0 }$ {- Y
16. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
5 @$ c5 X: R7 _) I5 d( X f1 ]; Q' ^ 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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