倍立美語 BarryFunEnglish

Lesson 301  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 [1]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 [2]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 [3]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 [4]found [5]clinging to bushes. Several people [6]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 [7]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.

逍遙在外的美洲獅

    美洲獅是一種體形似貓的大動物，產於美洲。當倫敦動物園接到報告說，在倫敦以南45英哩處發現一隻美洲獅時，這些報告並沒有受到重視(認真看待)。可是，隨著證據越來越多(開始累積)，動物園的專家們感到有必要(不得不)進行一番調查，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。

    搜捕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看見「一隻大貓」離她僅5碼遠，她剛看見牠，牠就立刻逃走了。專家證實，美洲獅除非被逼得走投無路，是絕不會攻擊人類的。事實上搜尋工作(證明)很困難，因為常常是早晨在甲地發現那隻美洲獅，晚上卻在20英哩外的乙地發現牠的蹤跡。無論牠走哪兒，一路上總會留下一串死鹿及像死兔子之類的小動物，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。有幾個人抱怨說夜裡聽見「像貓一樣的叫聲」；一位商人在釣魚行程中，看見那隻美洲獅在樹上。專家們如今已經完全肯定那隻動物就是美洲獅，但牠是從哪兒來的呢？由於全國動物園沒有一家報告丟了美洲獅，因此那隻美洲獅一定是某位私人收藏家所擁有的，不知怎麼設法逃出來了。搜捕工作進行了好幾個星期，但始終未能逮住那隻美洲獅。想到在寧靜的鄉村裡有一頭危險的野獸仍逍遙流竄，真令人擔心。