新概念英语逐句解读4
A puma at large 逃遁的美洲狮 （第三册第1课）
4. 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.
搜寻美洲狮的工作是从一座小村庄开始的。那里的一位妇女在采摘黑莓时看见"一只大猫"离她仅5码远。
hunt我们平常用的比较多的是"打猎"的意思，这里是"搜寻"的意思。比如：
the hunt for second-hand books:淘书
job-hunting:找工作
这句使用了where引导的定语从句，也可拆分成两句：
主句：The hunt for the puma began in a small village.
从句：A woman picking blackberries saw 'a large cat' only five yards away from her in that village.
其中，从句中又使用了现在分词picking作定语修饰a woman。
我们来仿写一句。
We then moved to Beijing where we lived for five years.
然后我们搬到了北京，在那里住了五年。
It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
她刚看见它，它就立刻逃走了。专家证实，美洲狮除非被逼得走投无路，否则是决不会伤人的。
这句话用 and 连接了两个并列句，拆分如下：
并列句1：It immediately ran away when she saw it.
并列句2：Experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
并列句1中使用了 when 引导的时间状语从句。并列句2中使用了that引导的宾语从句和unless引导的状语从句。
我们来仿写一句。
I felt myself blush when he saw me.
当他看见我时，我不觉脸红了。
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.
事实上搜寻工作很困难，因为常常是早晨在甲地发现那只美洲狮，晚上却在20英里外的乙地发现它的踪迹。
prove这里是作为不及物动词，"证明是，原来是"(turn out to be).
The new system has proved popular with our clients.
新系统很受我们客户的欢迎。
还可以作及物动词：
What are you trying to prove?
你想证明什么？
这句话使用 for 引导了一个原因状语从句，
主句：The search proved difficult。
从句：The puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
其中，从句中又使用了被动语态，并用 and 连接了两个相同的成分。
我们仿写一个句子：
This proves (that) I was right, for he has been missing.
这证明我是对的，因为他一直没有露面。
