新概念英語第三冊
Lesson 1 A Puma at large
1 . Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.無論它走哪兒，一路上總會留下一串死鹿及死兔子之類的小動物，
2 . Several people complained of cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.有人抱怨說夜裡聽見「像貓一樣的叫聲」；一位商人去釣魚，看見那只美洲獅在樹上。
3 . but where had it come from?但它是從哪兒來的呢？
4 . It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.想到在寧靜的鄉村裡有一頭危險的野獸繼續逍遙流竄，真令人擔心。
5 . However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate,可是，隨著證據越來越多，動物園的專家們感到有必要進行一番調查，
6 . When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.當倫敦動物園接到報告說，在倫敦以南45英里處發現一隻美洲獅時，這些報告並沒有受到重視。
7 . Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.美洲獅是一種體形似貓的大動物，產於美洲。
8 . 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.搜尋美洲獅的工作是從一座小村莊開始的。那裡的一位婦女在採摘黑莓時的看見「一隻大貓」，離她僅5碼遠，
9 . for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.因為凡是聲稱見到過美洲獅的人們所描述的情況竟是出奇地相似。
10 . 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.事實上搜尋工作很困難，因為常常是早晨在甲地發現那只美洲獅，晚上卻在20英里外的乙地發現它的蹤跡。
11 . 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.由於全國動物園沒有一家報告丟了美洲獅，因此那只美洲獅一定是某位私人收藏豢養的，不知怎麼設法逃出來了。
12 . It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.她剛看見它，它就立刻逃走了。專家證實，美洲獅非被逼得走投無路，是決不會傷人的。
13 . The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.搜尋工作進行了好幾個星期，但始終未能逮住那只美洲獅。
14 . Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.在許多地方看見爪印，灌木叢中發現了粘在上面的美洲獅毛。
15 . The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma,專家們如今已經完全肯定那只動物就是美洲獅，