“A puma at large ”是介词短语后置修饰前面名词，可以理解为 'a puma which is at large' 定语从句中出现“先行词+系动词”时，在不影响句子完整性的情况下，可以把先行词和系动词都省略。at large 常见意思是整个，全部，总地，但在这是在逃的，翻译成逍遥法外的也无不可。
puma 美洲豹
Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
“is/are found in”是产于...，不是被发现于，如果想表达此意，应该用过去时，which are 虽然在定语从句中出现，但此处不可省略。
When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
reports没有特指意味，也没有被修饰，无需加the。单数名词不可独立出现，但复数名词可以不加the独立出现。London Zoo 应该是动物园名字伦敦动物园，所以zoo也大写了。that 引导的从句指的就是reports的内容，理解成同位语从句。spotted动作早于reports came, 所以用过去完成时在这表示过去的过去。 forty-five miles south of London可能省略了to或on，表示补全应该是forty-five miles to/on the south of London，这是不确定的个人观点，到底省了什么，要根据地理知识判断。
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.
evidence特指的关于reports内容的证据，所以有the表示特指，the evidence也不是一个证据，它是不可数名词，表示一系列证据，不能加s。Zoo大写表示的就是London Zoo而不是其它的动物园。feel obliged to do=have to, feel impelled to do, feel compelled to do，不多说。for在这里相当于because of 但也相当于because跟一个句子表原因。claimed to have seen 之前可能没留意，感觉没见过，应该是想表示声称已经见过。extraordinarily similar 副词修饰形容词是常规操作，但可以考虑一下为什么也有几个形容词连用的情况，这里未涉及，暂时不说。
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.
hunt不止是有打猎，也有寻找的意思，常和for连用，比如 hunt for a job 找工作，hunt for easy-girls 猎艳。加the，上面的the evidence原因相同。where引导的定语从句里面嵌套了一个非谓语结构picking blackberries 修饰woman,表示一个正在采摘黑莓的女人。英里和码等长度单位换算，也不想多说。
It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
confirm和conform做一下区分，很简单，不多说。corner这里作动词，表示被逼到了墙角，引申为被逼无奈，就是说美洲豹不会主动攻击人类，除非人类攻击它。
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.
the search=the hunt 变化用词，体现词汇丰富。prove difficult=prove (to be) difficult，但一般不加to be 不要画蛇添足。这里的for引导一个句子，相当于because。observed=saw，spotted。one 后面跟the other或another也是常规操作，for one thing, for another thing.
Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
left本来已经够用了，加了behind为了更生动，留在身后，所以leave behind 是留下。She had sex with men indiscriminately and left behind a licentious reputation . a trail of 一系列，但trail还有小路的意思，表示美洲狮所到之处，一路留下了的死鹿死兔等小动物。
Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
clinging to bushes做found的补足语，更加简洁.
Several people complained of ‘cat-like noises’ at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
complain of something抱怨某物。cat-like 第一句就出现了，猫似的。a businessman on a fihsing trip=a businessman who was on a fishing trip. up 当动词，相当于climb。
The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
convinced 确信，这里直接跟宾语从句，常见的也可以convinced of。
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 manage to escape.
report missing 和found clinging to buses是一个道理。in the possession of =possessed by。somehow不知怎的。manage to do=successfully do.
The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
went on=continued,last 持续，继续
It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.
disturbing让人不安的
puma 也是一个服装品牌
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