spoor
/spʊə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /spʊr/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈspu̇r ˈspȯr/ (ame, mw)
spoor — 名詞
1. the set of clues a wild creature leaves on its path — footprints, crushed plants
獸跡；獸臭
野生動物留下的足跡與氣味
the set of clues a wild creature leaves on its path — footprints, crushed plants, droppings, and smell — that hunters and guides read to find it
The Kalahari guide knelt to read the fresh leopard spoor in the soft sand.
那位 Kalahari 嚮導蹲下來，仔細辨讀沙地上新鮮的花豹獸跡。
collocation: read / follow the spoor
Heavy rain had washed away the lion spoor by the time the rangers arrived.
等巡守員趕到時，大雨早已把獅子的獸跡沖刷掉了。
subject is a natural force erasing the spoor
Maeve photographed the elephant spoor pressed deep into the riverbank mud.
Maeve 拍下了深深壓進河岸泥地裡的大象足跡。
The trackers followed the antelope spoor for hours across the dry plain.
追蹤員沿著羚羊的獸跡，在乾燥的平原上追了好幾個小時。
A faint spoor of musk hung in the air where the buffalo had passed.
水牛經過之處，空氣中還飄著一股淡淡的麝香獸臭。
文法句型
follow the spoor of [animal]
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable and tied to wild, large game (lions, elephants, antelope); rarely used of pets or people. Common in safari, hunting, and conservation contexts.
常見錯誤
spoor — 動詞
- spoorpresent simple I / you / we / they
- spoors3rd person singular
- spooring-ing form
- spooredpast simple
1. to find and chase a wild animal by following the prints and smell it has left on
循跡追蹤
靠足跡與氣味追蹤野生動物
to find and chase a wild animal by following the prints and smell it has left on the ground
The San hunters spoored the wounded eland across the desert until nightfall.
那群 San 獵人循著獸跡追蹤受傷的大羚羊，橫越沙漠直到天黑。
transitive: spoor + [animal]
Andrés learned to spoor warthogs by reading the marks beside the watering hole.
Andrés 學會辨讀水坑旁的痕跡，循跡追蹤疣豬。
collocation: spoor + [animal]
The two guides spoored a leopard for three days through the thick bush.
那兩名嚮導在濃密的灌木叢裡循跡追蹤一隻花豹，追了三天。
Nkechi spoored the lost goats along the muddy path back to the village.
Nkechi 沿著泥濘的小路循跡追蹤走失的山羊，把牠們帶回村子。
Rangers spoored the rhino at dawn to check that the calf was still safe.
巡守員在黎明時循跡追蹤那隻犀牛，確認小犀牛仍然平安。
文法句型
spoor + [animal]
用法筆記
Always takes a direct object (the animal being followed) and is far rarer than the noun. Most common in hunting and game-tracking writing, often in the past tense.