Chinese turn out to welcome home American-born panda |
文章来源： 文章作者： 发布时间：2007-11-08 07:56 字体： [ 大 中 小] 进入论坛 |
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
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| A U.S.-born panda has been greeted by crowds of well-wishers on its arrival in southwest China on Wednesday. |
| CHENGDU, Nov. 8 - A U.S.-born panda has been greeted by crowds of well-wishers on its arrival in southwest China on Wednesday.
People carrying apples and fresh bamboo shoots turned out at the Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province to welcome Mei Sheng, who left San Diego Zoo on Monday, to his new home.
A brief medical check for the four-year-old, weighing 85 kg, showed he was in good condition, said Li Desheng, deputy head of the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center based in Wolong.
"But he still needs to be quarantined for one or two months, then he can officially enjoy life in his new home," he said.
The panda had been scheduled to leave the United States at the end of last month, but the departure was postponed1 due to a flight adjustment, said Li.
Experts from both the San Diego Zoo and the Chinese research center have escorted the panda on his journey.
Mei Sheng, which means "born in America" or "beautiful life" in Chinese, was born on Aug. 19, 2003 at the San Diego Zoo in southern California. His parents were Bai Yun and Gao Gao, a couple lent to the zoo by China under a giant panda conservation and research program.
According to the cooperation agreement, cubs2 born overseas to pandas on loan belong to China and must be sent to China after they become sexually mature.
The first overseas-born panda, Hua Mei, Mei Sheng's sister, came back to China from the United States in 2004 when she was five years old. Hua Mei gave birth to a twins in autumn that year.
Hua Mei was artificially conceived while Mei Sheng was the first overseas-born panda conceived through natural mating.
"Mei Sheng is sexually mature, and his first job in China is to adapt to the environment here and look for a mate," said Zhang Hemin, head of the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center.
"If he can come into heat smoothly3 in spring, he can join the reproduction program," he said.
China sent 24 giant pandas to nine countries as gifts from 1957 to 1982 and five of their offspring are still alive.
The government stopped the program in 1985 and launched long-term cooperation on giant panda breeding with Japan, the United States and Spain in 1994, since when, 25 pandas have been leased.
Giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world. Just 1,590 giant pandas are estimated to live in the wild, most of them in southwest China's mountainous regions.
By the end of 2006, about 210 giant pandas lived in captivity4 in China.
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点击  收听单词发音
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1
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） |
参考例句： |
- The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
- The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。
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2
cubs
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| 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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3
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 |
参考例句： |
- The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
- Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
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4
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 |
参考例句： |
- A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
- He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。
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