Panda gives birth to cub
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2009-06-17 06:31 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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The Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Sichuan province announced that 11-year-old panda Lun Lun gave birth to a cub1 in Zoo Atlanta in the United States at 10:11 am Beijing time yesterday.

It was her second birth since the base and the US zoo launched an international panda breeding program in 1999. Lun Lun gave birth to Mei Lan at the zoo in Sept 2006.

Her second cub is the only giant panda born so far in the US in 2008, said Dennis Kelly, Zoo Atlanta's president and CEO.

The zoo is continuing to monitor Lun Lun closely for a possible second birth.

Twin births take place nearly 50 percent of the time with giant pandas.

A second cub could arrive as much as 12 to 24 hours after the first, according to Zhang Zhihe, chief of the base.

Lun Lun is caring for her cub, which is about the size of a human hand.

The zoo's veterinary team will conduct its first checkup when it is deemed possible to do so without disrupting maternal2 care.

The zoo's animal management and veterinary teams, joined by Yang Kuixing, an official from the Chengdu base, will continue round-the-clock monitoring of the mother and cub, Kelly said.

Lun Lun and the cub's 11-year-old father Yang Yang are from the Chengdu base. They arrived at Zoo Atlanta in 1999 on a 10-year loan from the Chinese government.

The couple's arrival was highly significant, said Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Atlanta was the first city in the United States to receive pandas on loan from China, Franklin said.

She said she often took her grandson to the zoo to see the pandas, and that the panda's staple3 food, bamboo, grows in her backyard. She added that the pandas had boosted tourism in Atlanta and helped put the city on the map.

"The pandas have served as a bridge between Chengdu and Atlanta," she said.

"More and more young people are starting to learn more about China and Chengdu. As far as I know, many of them have been to Chengdu or are planning to visit Chengdu.”.

Due to human activities and environmental degradation4, the pandas' natural habitat has been shrinking, with only 1,500 left in the world.

Chengdu is home to the world's only giant panda breeding and research base built in a large city.

The base is home to 80 pandas, according to deputy chief Tan Hongming.

Questions:

1. How many cubs5 has Lun Lun given birth to since 1999?

2. How often do giant pandas give birth to twins?

3.How many giant pandas are kept at Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base?

Answers:

1. 2.

2. 50 percent of the time.

3. 80.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 cub ny5xt     
n.幼兽,年轻无经验的人
参考例句:
  • The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
  • The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。
2 maternal 57Azi     
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的
参考例句:
  • He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
  • The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。
3 staple fGkze     
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类
参考例句:
  • Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
  • Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。
4 degradation QxKxL     
n.降级;低落;退化;陵削;降解;衰变
参考例句:
  • There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
  • Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。
5 cubs 01d925a0dc25c0b909e51536316e8697     
n.幼小的兽,不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
  • Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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