Lesson 1

Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
美洲狮是发现于美洲的大型类猫动物。
When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
当伦敦动物园接到报告说在伦敦以南45英里处发现了一只野生美洲狮时，这些报告并没有被认真对待。
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.
然而，随着证据开始积累，动物园的专家们感到有义务去调查，因为那些声称见过美洲狮的人所提供的描述极其相似。
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.
寻找美洲狮的搜寻工作开始于一个小村庄，在那里，一名采摘黑莓的妇女在离她仅五码远的地方看见了“一只大猫”。
It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
当她看到它时，它立即跑开了，专家们证实，美洲狮不会攻击人类，除非它被逼入绝境。
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.
搜寻工作证明是困难的，因为那只美洲狮经常在早上出现在一个地方，而晚上又在二十英里外的另一个地方被发现。
Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
无论它走到哪里，身后都会留下一串死鹿和像兔子一样的小动物的尸体。
Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
在好几处地方都发现了爪印，还发现灌木丛上粘着美洲狮的毛。
Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
有几个人投诉在深夜听到“猫一样的叫声”，而且一名在钓鱼旅行中的商人看见那只美洲狮在树上。
The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
专家们现在已经完全相信那只动物是一只美洲狮，但它是从哪儿来的呢？
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.
由于这个国家的任何动物园都没有美洲狮失踪的报告，因此这一只一定曾为一名私人收藏家所拥有，并且不知怎么地成功逃脱了。
The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
搜寻持续了几个星期，但是那只美洲狮并没有被抓获。
It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
想到一只危险的野生动物仍在安静的乡间逍遥法外，真是令人不安。