# A puma at large
Table of Contents
Words
puma n.
spot n.斑点
a big red spot
There is a big red spot on my clothes.
Why is there a big black spot on your fur coat?
a spot on one’s reputation
She tried to avoid situations that might cause a spot on her clean reputation.
You shouldn’t have stolen money, you’ll get a spot on your reputation.
Dishonesty can cause a spot on your reputation.
A leopard won’t change its spots
Don’t trust him again, a leopard won’t change its spots.
He promised to be honest this time, but a leopard won’t change its spots.
I thought he would stop lying, but a leopard won’t change its spots.
spot of sth. 有点…
a spot of bother 有点小麻烦
You seem to be having a spot of bother with your car, can I help?
Would you like a spot of tea?
I’m in a spot of trouble with my car.
After a spot of rain, the sun came out again.
a scenic spot 一个景点
A great many of scenic spots are being spoilt by the ill-behaved tourists.
The Middle East is a hot spot.
I don’t like visiting scenic spots because I don’t like walking in the crowds.
on the spot
Ten minutes after calling 911, a police car arrived on the spot.
I was on the spot when the accident happened.
The reporter was on the spot to cover the event.
spot v. 看出，发现
A hug iceberg was suddenly spotted by a lookout.
He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.
I spotted my friend in the crowd.
We spotted a rainbow after the storm.
evidence n.证据
a piece of evidence
evident adj.
self-evident 不言自明
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
It is self-evident that exercise is good for your health.
court n.法庭
go to court 打官司
settle sth. out of court
He decided to go to court to defend his rights.
If you don’t pay the fine, you will have to go to court.
They went to court over money.
They decided to settle the case out of court.
They decided to settle the case out of court to avoid damaging their reputation.
accumulate v.积累，聚集
accumulate knowledge / possessions
I accumulated a large vocabulary.
I had to go out and throw away a bag of rubbish because it had been piling up for a week.
He has accumulated a lot of experience in teaching.
They accumulated a large amount of data during the research.
Dust accumulated on the shelves.
amass v.积累
amass a fortune
People tend to amass possessions
pile up 越积越多
Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind.
The rubbish has been piling up for a week. We need to throw it away.
Snow piled up outside the door overnight.
Books are piling up on my desk again.
Work keeps piling up, and I can’t take a break.
collect
collect stamps
gather
gather crops
hoard 囤积
Shenzhen real estate developers hoard large amounts of land.
oblige v. 使…感到必须
be / feel obliged to do
Many parents feel obliged to pay for at least part of the wedding.
The rubbish has been piling up for a week. I feel obliged to throw it away.
I felt obliged to finish my work.
She felt obliged to apologize for the mistake.
be / feel compelled to do 迫于外界压力
be / feel impelled to do 由于内心动力
President Nixon felt compelled to resign.
He felt impelled to point out that they were making a dangerous mistake.
human being n.人类
human bing, man, mankind, humankind, human race, humanity
alien bing, intelligent being
a crime against humanity
be 存在
To be, or not to be: that is the question.
I think therefore I am.
somehow adv.不知怎么搞地
somewhat 有点，有些
He was somewhat hungry.
He was somewhat embarrassed.
somewhere
I’ve lost my wallet somewhere around there.
My wallet must be somewhere in the room.
I left my phone somewhere this morning.
disturb v.打扰，令人不安
Do not disturb.
I hope I’m not disturbing you.
Sorry to disturb you, but do you know where the cinema is?
Story
Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
at large
a prisoner / suspect at large
The disease is still at large. 疾病在肆虐
cat-like
bear-like animals
crystal-like eyes
flu-like symptoms
As is shown in the picture, there is a cobweb-like structure with separate compartments packed in it.
be found in… 产于…
Many plant and animal species are only found in the rainforests.
Vitamin C is found in citrus fruit.
Giant pandas are large, bear-like animals which are found in Sichuan province, China.
When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
come into
I thought of a good idea.
A good idea came into my mind.
A good idea occurred to me.
A good idea flashed into my mind.
He went to the town on business.
Business took him to the town.
A warm and sunny Sunday found my whole family going for an outing at the beach.
in/on/to the south of…
Shanghai is in the south of China. 内部
Vietnam is on the south of China. 相邻
Indonesia is (to the) south of China. 外部 这个to the可以省略. The wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles (to the) south of London.
take … seriously 重视
take … lightly 轻视
They were not taken seriously.
They were taken lightly.
When news came into the national museum that an ancient tomb had been found 100 kilometers south of Xian, it was 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.
give descriptions
make descriptions
The witnesses gave descriptions of the suspect to the police.
The descriptions given by witnesses were extraordinarily similar.
The students were asked to give descriptions of their hometowns.
非谓语做后置定语
descriptions (which were) given by people.
a woman picking blackberries saw a large cat.
John had a very good day and put his wallet containing $3,000 into the microwave oven for safekeeping.
The man leaning against the wall named George is my brother.
claim to have done… 声称曾经做某事
claim to do… 声称做某事
So far, no organization has claimed to be responsible for the accident.
Fishermen and sailors sometimes claim to have seen monsters in the sea.
He claims to know the president personally.
The company claims to offer the best service in the city.
were extraordinarily similar
were particularly alike
had a lot in common
had considerable commonalities
As the cases began to accumulate, specialist felt obliged to investigate, for the symptoms of people who had caught the disease 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.
I’m hunting for a job now.
The hunt for a job will begin tomorrow.
the winter in America
the entrance to the parking lot
a witness to the accident
a longing for love
the reason for the disaster
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.
prove (to be) + adj. / n. 证明是…
His injury proved (to be) fatal.
The operation proved (to be) a success.
turn out to be + adj. / n. 原来是…
They were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman.
Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
疑问词 + ever (whenever, wherever, whoever, whichever, whatever…)
- 表示”无论…”引导让步状语从句 = no matter + 疑问词
- No matter where it went…
- No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin’s early films.
- 表示”到底…”用于疑问句
- Whatever are you doing up here Bill?
- Wherever did you go yesterday?
- When ever am I going to see you again?
- When will you ever learn? 你到底什么时候才能会？
a trail of
Wherever he went, he left a trail of coins behind him.
Wherever he went, he left a trail of unpaid bills behind him.
Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
Increasing attention has been paid to the condition of the laid-off workers.
fur 皮毛, feather 羽毛, fin鱼鳍
fin, fur and feather = all kinds of animals
The crown(王权) should not yield to the cross(神权).
主语补足语
Puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
No pumas had been reported missing from any zoo.
The fire was reported controlled. = It is reported that the fire was controlled.
Several people complained of ‘cat-like noises’ at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
complain of / about sth.
complain (that)
She complained that no one had been at the airport to meet her.
on a business / honeymoon trip on表示在…途中
on a journey / voyage / expedition / tour
A man on a journey was robbed yesterday.
I met a captain on a voyage and chatted with him for 10 minutes.
The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
be convinced that
convince sb. of sth.
The doctor was convinced that the patient was dead.
I tried to convince him of my innocence, but he didn’t believe me and insisted on going to court.
He convinced me of the importance of learning English.
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.
must have done 当时一定是
You must have been ill yesterday. You looked so pale.
may / might have done
can not / could not have done
You can’t have been ill yesterday. I saw you going shopping with you wife.
should / ought to have done 本应该，但没做
should not / ought not to have done 不应该做，但做了
You should have finished your work yesterday.
I shouldn’t have shouted at you yesterday.
in the possession of sb. / in one’s possession 拥有
in possession of sth
The book is in my possession.
I’m in possession of the book.
in the charge of sb. / in one’s charge 归…管理
in charge of
The bookstore is in my charge.
I’m in charge of the bookstore.
managed to do 设法完成
He has never managed to get enough money to have the church clock repaired.
fail to do 没能完成
When the journalist again failed to replay, the editor reluctantly published the article as it had originally been written.
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.
go on 持续
Please go on with your story.
The meeting went on for three hours.
It is … to think that …
It is worrying to think that I need to speak English fluently.
It is comforting(欣慰) to think that I haven’t given up on myself.
Vocabulary
spotted: seen
accumulate: pile up
obliged to: compel to, impel to
claimed: stated
extraordinarily similar: surprisingly alike
immediately: at once
convinced: sure
Summary writing
The reports received by London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London were similar in nature.
A woman picking blackberries saw it first, but it moved from place to place, leaving a trail of dead deer and small animals.
Paw prints and puma fur were found as well.
‘Cat-like noises’ were heard at night, and the animal was seen up a tree.
Now experts were convinced that the animal really was a puma.
Composition
Mrs. Stone had spent the whole morning picking blackberries in the countryside near her home. It was nearly lunch time, so she decided to go home for lunch. She was just picking up her basket when she heard a noise in the bushes. Then she saw an animal which looked like a big cat staring at her. She knew it was not a cat because it was impossible for a cat to be that big. The animal suddenly began to move and she thought it was going to rush toward her and perhaps attack her. She dropped her basket and screamed loudly, running as quickly as she could away from it. Hearing the sound, the animal immediately ran away and disappeared from sight, after which Mrs. Stone rested for a while and picked up the basket, running all the way home. She told her neighbours that she had seen a very big cat when she was picking blackberries but they didn’t believe her. She also telephoned the police but they didn’t take it seriously.