练习材料：

新概念三 Lesson: A Puma at large 逃遁的美洲狮

Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted 45 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 20 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.

翻译：

// TODO

任务配置：L0+L4

笔记：

单词：

puma （n）美洲狮

spot （v） 看出，发现

evidence (n) 证据

accumulate (v) 积累，积聚

oblige (v) 使……感到必须

hunt (n) 追猎；寻找

blackberry (n) 黑莓

human being (n) 人类

corner (v) 使走投无路，使陷入困境

trail (n) 一串，一系列

print （n）印痕

cling （v）粘

convince （v） 使信服

somehow 不知怎么搞地

disturb (v) 令人不安

课文注释：