01_A_Puma_at_Large
01 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}. 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.
Words¶
- Pumas /ˈpjuməz/ 美洲豹
- wild /waɪld/ 野生的
- spotted /ˈspɑtɪd/ 注意到
- taken /ˈtekən/ seriously /ˈsɪriəsli/ 严肃地
- evidence /ˈɛvədəns/ 证据
- accumulate /əˈkjumjəˌlet/ 积累
- felt /fɛlt/ obliged /əˈblaɪdʒd/ to /tu/ 有义务做
- investigate /ˌɪnˈvɛstəˌɡet/ 调查
- hunt /hʌnt/ 搜寻
- blackberries /ˈblækˌbɛriz/ 黑莓
- human /ˈhjumən/ being /ˈbiɪŋ/ 人类
- cornered /ˈkɔrnɚd/ 被困得走投无路的
- a /ə/ trail /trel/ of /ʌv/ 一连串
- deer /dɪr/ 鹿
- Paw /pɔ/ prints /prɪnts/ 爪印
- clinging /ˈklɪŋɪŋ/ 附着
- bushes /ˈbʊʃəz/ 灌木丛
- convinced /kənˈvɪnst/ 说服
- in /ɪn/ the /ðə/ possession /pəˈzɛʃən/ of /ʌv/ 拥有
- escape /ɪˈskep/ 逃脱
- went /wɛnt/ on /ɑn/ 继续进行
- disturbing /dɪˈstɝbɪŋ/ 烦扰的
- at /æt/ large /lɑrdʒ/ 在逃的
Expressions¶
- spot sb. doing sth. 发现某人正在做某事
- feel obliged to do sth. 感到不得不做某事
- a trail of 一连串；一系列
- cling to sb./sth. 紧紧抓住/依附于某人/某物
- sth. convinced sb. that + 句子 某事使某人相信……
- sb. was/were convinced that + 句子 某人相信……
- It is disturbing to think that + 句子 一想到……就令人不安
- at large 在逃的；逍遥法外
- be found in 被发现于；存在于
- take sth. seriously 认真对待某事
- sth. proved adj. 某物被证明是……的
- sb. confirmed that + 句子 某人确认……
- claim to have done sth. 声称做过某事
- find sb. doing sth. 发现某人正在做某事
- go on 继续