A Puma at Large

New words puma- 美洲狮 spot －辩认，认出 I spotted him in the crowds. take sth seriously— 认真对待 He never takes any work seriously. evidence-- 证据 The broken window was evidence that a burglary had taken place.

New words accumulate- 积累；增加 Dust quickly accumulates if we don't sweep our room. be obliged to do sth. 不得不 ( 做某事 ), 必须 ( 做某 事 ) investigate- 调查 descriptions －－描述 claim －宣称 The sportsman claimed he had won the race

New words extraordinarily-very, 格外地 Similar- 相似的, 类似的 be similar to 与... 相似, 类似于... His hair style is similar to mine. Blackberry －黑莓 Immediately － at once confirm- 证实， 肯定 confirm a theory 证实一种理论

New words corner- 置于角落，迫入角落： They cornered the thieves and captured them. observe- 观察 a trail of – 一串，一系列 cling to- 粘着：紧紧抓住或粘着在某物上 fabrics that cling to the body 紧贴身的衣服

New words complain of The boy complained of a pain in his stomach. 这孩子说他肚子痛。 convince －使相信［信服］， 说服 I am convinced that the was not there when the accidents took place. In possession of －拥有, 持有 He is in possession of a large fortune. disturbing －烦扰的

Listening objective Where must the puma have come from?

Questions for understanding What do pumas look like? Where are they found? Where had a wild puma been seen? The report was received by the London Zoo, wasn’t it? Why did the Zoo feel obliged to investigate? Where did the hunt for the puma begin? What did a woman claim she had seen? What had the woman been doing at the time?

Questions for understanding On what occasions will a puma attack a human? Did the search for the puma prove difficult? Why? What did the puma eat? What evidence was found for the puma’s existence? What sorts of noises did people complain about? When did a businessman see a puma up a tree? The experts were fully convinced of its existence, weren’t they?

Development of the text 1. Reports were not taken seriously by experts. 2. Experts felt obliged to investigate 3. Experts confirmed that puma will not attack a human being unless cornered. 4. Experts were convinced that the animal was a puma.

Evidence for the puma A woman saw the puma. The puma was observed at different places. It left behind a trail of dead deer and small animals. Paw prints were seen. Puma fur was found. People complained of “cat-like noises”. A businessman saw the puma up a tree.

Retelling the story Hunt began--small village--woman picking blackberry--large cat--five yards Ran away—experts confirmed—not attack— cornered Search difficult—puma was observed—one place—morning—another twenty miles away— evening Wherever it went—trail– dead deer—small animals Paw prints– a number of places—puma fur— clinging to bushes

Retelling the story Several people complained—cat-like noises— businessman fishing trip—up a tree Experts convinced—was a puma—where from? No puma reported missing—zoo in the country– possession of a private collector—managed to escape Hunt went on—several weeks—puma not caught Disturbing—dangerous wild animal—still at large—quiet countryside

Key to exercises on P. 17 1—5 D A C C D 6—10 B D D C B 11—12 B A

Topics for discussion Describe a visit to the zoo and the animals you most like to see there and why What can we do to protect wild animals like pandas and tigers from extinction? Do you think it is humane to kill animals for the purpose of experiments?