Unit 6 Cougar In The Country
第6单元 郊野的美洲狮

The McAlister family lives in a small house in a valley on the west coast of Canada. There were few neighbors near their house. They had lots of land that lead out to the mountains.
麦阿里斯特一家人住在加拿大西海岸一个山谷里的小屋里。他们家附近邻居很少，很多通到山里的土地都是他们的。

The McAlister’s had several encounters with raccoons, squirrels, goats and other mountain animals that would come searching for food. They once had a bear in their back yard looking through the garbage. One summer day, Mrs. McAlister was at home with the two children. Mr. McAlister was at work.
麦阿里斯特家遇到过几次正在觅食的浣熊、松鼠、山羊和其他山里的动物。有一次，他们还在后院遇到一只在垃圾堆里觅食的熊。某个夏日，阿里斯特太太和两个小孩待在家里，阿里斯特先生则去上班。

The two children were playing in the backyard. As Mrs. McAlister was finishing up, she heard her oldest daughter scream. She looked up and saw a cougar perched on the fence ready to pounce on the youngest child. Mrs. McAlister ran outside to save her children. At first, she screamed and waved at the giant cat trying to scare it. But the cat hissed at the woman and came closer.
两个小孩在后院本来玩得好好的，结果阿里斯特太太吃完东西时，却听到大女儿的尖叫声。她抬头一看，看到一只美洲狮停在篱笆上准备扑向她最小的小孩，于是阿里斯特太太赶紧跑出去救她小孩。一开始，她一边尖叫一边向那只大猫挥手想要把它吓住，可是那只猫对她嘶嘶叫着越靠越近。

Then Mrs. McAlister grabbed a shovel in the yard and swung it at the cougar. Finally, the cougar ran off and Mrs. McAlister held her children and was thankful they were safe.
于是阿里斯特太太抓起后院的一把铁锹对着美洲狮挥来挥去。最后美洲狮跑开了，阿里斯特太太抱着她的孩子，很欣慰他们都平安无事。

【美】 Meredith Walker 著 陈怡芬 译

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