新概念英语3Lesson1课文及笔记.pdfVIP

Lesson1 A puma at large Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar. 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. It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered （adj. 被困得走 投 无 路 的 ） . The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes. Several people complained of cat-like noises at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from ? As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside. 美洲狮是 一种体形似猫的大动物 ，产于美洲 。 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 。 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 ， 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 。 搜寻美洲狮的 工作是从 一座小村庄开始的 。 那 里 的