Lesson 1 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.

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【Pronouncation】

1. 数量词+n. 词组一般重音在名词

forty-five miles 、five yards 、three books

2. London Zoo 重音在Zoo上

3. 连词、代词等虚词弱读

who  、  must have been 中的 have

【Words & Expression】

1. at large 在逃；未被捕获的；行动自由的

2. accumulate v.积累、积聚  accumulative [ə'kjumjələtɪv] adj. 累计的；累积的；积聚而成的

eg. The score is accumulative.  分数是加权的/累积的。

accumulate fortune / experience 积累财富/经验

3. spot

v.看出，发现  =  find

n. 地点 = place; 斑点；污迹；粉刺，丘疹

Beauty spot/mark 美人痣

4. corner v. 使走投无路，使陷入困境

1) n.角落、转角 Drop me at the next corner.

2) around the corner 在拐角处；在附近(常与 just 连用)

3) round the corner 快到了，将要来临(drawing near，coming soon)

eg. Summer holiday is round the corner.

4) v.被逼到走投无路  Finally the thief was cornered by the police.

5) v.垄断    Eric cornered the morning reading market.

5. trail n. 一串，一系列

6.rob/inform/remind/approve/complain + of sth 注意介词 of

eg. I was robbed of my wallet.

The manager approved of his decision/resignation/choice/opinion.  赞成/批准

7. disturb v.令人不安

disturbing adj. 令人不安的

eg. It is disturbing to think that…一想到…就让人感到不安

8. claim v. 宣称；索取，认领；夺走，夺去（生命）

eg. He claimed that he is handsomest man in the world.

This car accident claimed five lives.

Baggage claim （美式）

Baggage reclaim （英式）

9. In possession of 拥有；具有

eg. It is a universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. 《傲慢与偏见》里的经典句子