Where must the puma have come from?

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    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.

     puma(title)/'pju:m+/n. 美洲狮
　　corner(1. 9)/'k&:n+/v. 使走投无路，使陷入困境
　　spot(1. 2)/sp&t/v. 看出，发现
　　trail(1. 11)/'treil/n. 一串，一系列
　　evidence(1. 4)/'evid+ns/n．证据
　　print(1. 12)/print/n. 印痕
　　accumulate(1. 4)/e'kju:mjuleit/v. 积累，积聚
　　cling(1. 12)/kliR/(clung/kl)R/, clung)v. 粘
　　oblige(1. 5)/+'blaid{/v. 使……感到必须
　　convince(1. 14)/k+n'vins/v. 使……信服
　　hunt(1. 7)/h)nt/n. 追猎；寻找
　　somehow(1. 16)/'s)mha(/adv. 不知怎么搞地，不
　　blackberry(1. 8)/'bl$kb+ri/n. 黑莓   知什么原因
　　human being(1. 9)/?hju:m+n-'bi:iR/人类
　　disturb(1. 17)/di'st*:b/v. 令人不安

课文注释
　　1  at large是介词短语，此处表示“逍遥自在”、“行动自由”的意思。
　　2  When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, 当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦以南45英里的地方发现一头野生美洲狮时。这个从句中以that引导的从句是reports的同位语，用于进一步说明报告的内容。
　　3  feel obliged to do sth. 是“感到不得不做某事”的意思。
　　4  it left behind it a trail of, 它身后留下一串……。
　　a trail of作left的宾语，behind it是状语，提到宾语之前是为了使句子结构更紧凑。
　　5  puma fur was found clinging to bushes中，clinging是现在分词，此处作主语puma fur的主语补足语。下文中As no pumas had been reported missing…一句中，missing也是现在分词作主语补足语。
　　6  in the possession of, 为……所有。

Summary writing 摘要写作
　　In not more than 80 words describe how experts came to the conclusion that the animal seen by many people really was a puma. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.
　　Answer these questions in note form to get your points:
　　1  What sort of reports were received by London Zoo?
　　2  Were the reports similar in nature or not?
　　3  Who saw it first?
　　4  Did it stay in one place,or did it move from place to place?
　　5  What did it leave behind it?
　　6  Were paw prints and puma fur found as well or not?
　　7  What was heard at night?
　　8  Was the animal seen up a tree or not?
　　9  Were experts now sure that the animal really was a puma or not?

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