在英语学习领域，新概念英语第三册宛如一座知识宝库，以其科学系统的教学理念、丰富多元且实用的课程内容，为无数学习者搭建起稳固的英语进阶阶梯。它精选的经典篇章，兼具趣味性与启发性。今天，就让我们围绕“这只美洲狮究竟从何而来”这一主题展开探索，借助这一鲜活场景，为大家呈上有价值的学习素材！

【课文】

Where must the puma have come from?

这只美洲狮究竟从何而来？

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 des criptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.

美洲狮是一种体形似猫的大型动物，多见于美洲。当伦敦动物园接到报告称，在伦敦以南45英里处发现了一只野生美洲狮时，这些报告并未受到重视。然而，随着证据不断增多，动物园的专家们感到有必要展开调查，因为那些声称目睹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. 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.

搜寻美洲狮的行动始于一个小村庄，当时一位正在采摘黑莓的妇女在距离她仅五码远的地方看到了一只“大猫”。那动物一见到她就立刻跑开了，专家证实，美洲狮除非被逼入绝境，否则不会攻击人类。搜寻工作困难重重，因为人们早上还发现美洲狮在某个地方，傍晚时它却出现在二十英里外的另一个地方。无论它走到哪里，都会留下死鹿和兔子等小动物的尸体。多处发现了爪印，灌木丛上还粘有美洲狮的毛发。好几个人抱怨夜里听到“类似猫叫的噪音”，还有一位外出钓鱼的商人看到美洲狮爬到了树上。专家们现在完全确信这只动物就是美洲狮，但它究竟从何而来呢？由于国内没有动物园报告丢失美洲狮，那么这只美洲狮一定是某位私人收藏者所养，后来设法逃脱了。搜寻工作持续了数周，但美洲狮仍未被捕获。想到这样一只危险的野生动物仍在宁静的乡村逍遥法外，实在令人不安。

【生词和短语】

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 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 adv.不知怎么搞地，不知什么原因

disturb v.令人不安

以上就是“新概念英语第三册：这只美洲狮究竟从何而来”的内容，希望对大家有所帮助!