英语博客：A Cougar in Town!

　　The local news the other day was just the kind of news that I don't want to hear. A cougar¹ had wandered down from the nearby mountains and was found in a residential² area of town. Now, I know that we live in an area that is close to wilderness³. You don't have to travel far from here to encounter bears, cougars⁴, coyotes, and now increasingly, wolves. I remember having a conversation with my brother about the wildernesses⁵ around here. He is in love with wild, out of the way places. I, on the other hand, quite like towns and cities, though I do appreciate the beauty of the wild. As he is a photographer, he tries to find a way to wildernesses whenever he can, to have encounters with wild animals, and take photos whenever possible. I, on the other hand, came here to marry my man who is only slightly wild. I have deep respect for all the predatory animals that surround us, and I enjoy the fact that they are up in the hills, and we are down in the towns. I hope it stays that way. But, instances of both worlds colliding are bound to happen. The cougar in question turned out to be a young, starving orphan⁶ who had come to the town in desperate search of food. The police managed to find it. They had to scramble⁷ to find it. They brought in dogs to help them. They had very little time, as it was early morning, and children from the residential area would soon be walking to school. There was another incidence a year ago in a town nearby, this time with a full grown female. A man had fallen asleep in his lounge, and woke up to the sound of his dogs barking and growling⁸ outside. He went out sleepily, and in the half light saw what seemed to be a huge dog attacking one of his dogs. He ran up to it and swung his fist to punch it. When his fist hit the animal's head, he said, it felt like punching steel. It was an immensely strong cougar who, thankfully, was frightened by the man approaching it. It sprang up in the air, like cats do, and ran off. My husband laughed when he told me about the cougar news the other day. He knows that I am quite fearful of cougars, more for my children's sake than mine. He always tells me how it's much easier to have a car accident, or seriously fall down the stairs, than to be attacked by a cougar. I'm still not comforted. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes peeled, and if I see anything bigger than a large dog, I'll certainly let you know!
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to collide, to scramble, to keep your eyes peeled.
1. The plane collided with the mountainside; thankfully, no one was hurt.
2. We scrambled⁹ to get to the camp breakfast on time, where they were having scrambled eggs.
3. I've lost my iPod; keep your eyes peeled because it could be anywhere.

1 cougar   

n.美洲狮；美洲豹

参考例句：

• I saw a cougar slinking toward its prey.我看到一只美洲狮正在潜随猎物。
• I have never seen a cougar.我从未见过美洲豹。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 cougars   

n.美洲狮( cougar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cougars can kill animals eight times their size. 美洲狮可以杀死八倍于自身体积的动物。 来自互联网

5 wildernesses   

荒野( wilderness的名词复数 )； 沙漠； （政治家）在野； 不再当政（或掌权）

参考例句：

• Antarctica is one of the last real wildernesses left on the earth. 南极洲是地球上所剩不多的旷野之一。
• Dartmoor is considered by many to be one of Britain's great nature wildernesses. Dartmoor被很多人认为是英国最大的荒原之一。

6 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

7 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

8 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

9 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》