NBC晚间新闻 首只试管授精猎豹出生

Tonight at the Columbus zoo a scientific marvel¹ with spots. Actually more like two little marvels² to be exact. The world's first in vitro cheetah³ cub⁴ and then moments later the second, a twin. It's huge for cheetahs⁵. Probably one of the biggest breakthrough that we've had. Their birth natural and caught on camera. But their conception straight out of the future in an effort to save a species. Today there are only around seven thousand cheetahs left in the wild where only five percent of cubs⁶ survive.

Poaching and a loss of hunting grounds have led to so few cheetahs that too many are too closely related. So now scientists are making new and very modern trees outside of the serengeti. The cubs biological mother Kabibi and their father Slash⁷ chosen for their bloodline but Kabibi is too old to carry so the baby-making happened in a petri dish. The embryo⁸ placed in three year old Izzy with plenty of baby cheetah raising years still left to give. All under the watchful⁹ eye of science happy to give these precious little cubs a hand.

今晚在哥伦布动物园，带斑点的科学奇迹出现了。确切地说，更像是两个小奇迹。世界上第一只体外培养的猎豹幼崽诞生，片刻之后，第二只诞生，这是一对双胞胎。这对猎豹来说太重大了。这可能是我们取得的最大突破之一。它们的自然出生被摄像机记录了下来。但它们的繁衍是为了拯救一个物种。如今，野生猎豹只剩下大约七千只，而野生猎豹幼仔的存活率只有百分之五。偷猎和猎场的减少导致猎豹数量减少，以至于太多的猎豹与猎豹的亲缘关系过于密切。所以现在科学家们在塞伦盖蒂平原外培育新的非常现代的族系。幼崽的生母蓝蒂斯，父亲史莱许被挑选出来延续他们的血统，但是蓝蒂斯年纪太大了，无法孕育，所以胚胎是在有盖培养皿中形成的。这个胚胎被植入了三岁的伊兹体内，而大量的小猎豹还需要几年的时间才能长大。在科学的密切注视下，所有人都乐意帮助这些珍贵的小豹。

1 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

2 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

3 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

4 cub   

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。

5 cheetahs   

n.（奔跑极快的）非洲猎豹( cheetah的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Unlike lions or cheetahs, leopards are secretive, solitary cats. 花豹不像狮子或印度豹，是属于较神秘而隐居的大猫。 来自互联网
• Among this lot are cheetahs, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, spotted hyenas and elephants. 印度豹、狮子、花豹、犀牛、斑点土狼、大象等，都是此地的居民。 来自互联网

6 cubs   

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》

7 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

8 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

9 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。