聪明的熊猫 为吹空调假装怀孕

 　　The birth of tiny panda cubs² - seen live on television for the first time - was expected to captivate viewers in China.

　　在电视上首次直播小熊猫幼崽的出生过程，肯定会吸引中国的很多观众。

　　But fans of the endangered animals will be disappointed, because there will be no pitter patter of tiny paws any time soon.

　　但是熊猫迷们可能要失望了，因为最近可能不会有熊猫小幼崽出生了。

　　Experts say that the 'pregnant' panda who was to be the star of the show is not expecting after all, and may have been faking a pregnancy³ to cash in on cushy living quarters and extra treats at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre in China.

　　中国成都大熊猫繁育研究基地的专家称，本来会成为这次电视直播明星的“怀孕的”大熊猫事实上并没有怀孕，它可能是为了住得更舒适、得到跟多的优待而出现了“假孕”现象。

　　聪明的熊猫 为吹空调假装怀孕

　　Giant panda, Ai Hin, showed signs of being pregnant last month, according to reports by state news agency Xinhua.

　　据新华社报道，上个月大熊猫爱浜出现怀孕的迹象。

　　But experts at the centre in the south western province of Sichuan, think she experienced a phantom⁴ pregnancy.

　　但是之后大熊猫基地的专家认为爱浜这种情况属于“假妊娠”。

　　Ai Hin’s ‘behaviours and physiological⁵ indexes returned to normal’ ahead of her TV debut⁶, they said.

　　他们说，爱浜在其直播首秀之前被发现“行为和生理指标恢复了正常”。

　　It is standard practice at the breeding centre to take extra care of expectant giant pandas, as every cub¹ is so important to preserving the highly threatened species.

　　在大熊猫繁育基地，给大熊猫“准妈妈”们特殊的照顾是很正常的，因为对于保护这种高濒危物种来说每一只幼崽都是十分重要的。

　　Mothers-to-be are housed in air-conditioned single rooms and receive 24-hour care.

　　“准妈妈”们都会住进单独的“空调房”里，并且安排专人24小时看护。

　　It is thought that the intelligent animals know their care improves when they are expecting.

　　有人认为，这种聪明的动物可能知道了自己在怀孕时会受到优待。

　　Wu Kongju, an expert at the centre told Xinhua: ‘They also receive more buns, fruits and bamboo, so some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life.’

　　大熊猫基地的专家吴孔菊告诉新华社记者：“怀孕的大熊猫还能得到更多的窝窝头、水果和竹子等食物，所以聪明的它们为了提高自己的生活品质可能会使些‘小手段’。”

　　Some of the bears continue to display pregnant behaviour after noticing their change of treatment and experts say that it is common for endangered animals to have phantom pregnancies⁷.

　　有些大熊猫在待遇变化之后仍会表现出怀孕的症状，专家称大熊猫的“假孕”现象是比较普遍的。

　　Experts were led to believe that Ai Hin was pregnant as she became less mobile and had less of an appetite. They also noticed a surge in hormones⁸ at first – before realising the pregnancy wasn’t real, Gulf⁹ News reported.

　　爱浜当时是因为出现运动量减少、食欲降低等情况让专家们误以为她怀孕了。据《海湾新闻》报道，专家们在意识到爱浜是“假孕”之前，还在其体内发现了孕激素值上升。

　　Breeding centres such as Chengdu are needed to stop giant pandas teetering on the edge of extinction¹⁰.

　　成都大熊猫基地的任务就是为了挽救这种濒临灭绝边缘的动物。

　　The animals’ natural habitat in the mountains has become more built-up and the bears have a low reproductive rate, making their survival perilous¹¹.

　　由于大熊猫的自然栖息地越来越少，再加上其繁殖率越来越低，它们的生存面临着危险。

　　Female giant pandas reach maturity¹² at between four and eight years old and only ovulate once a year in the spring.

　　雌性大熊猫的成熟期为4-8岁，但只在每年春天排卵一次。

　　A short period of two to three days is the only time they can conceive and while a panda often gives birth to twins, only one usually survives.

　　它们能怀孕的时间只有短短的两三天，而当一只大熊猫产下双胞胎时往往只有一只能够存活。

　　Over a lifetime of around 35 years, female pandas typically only successfully raise five to eight cubs, so their slow breeding rate prevents the population from recovering quickly.

　　一只大熊猫一般能活35年左右，但雌性大熊猫一生中只能成功养育5-8个幼崽。低繁殖率使大熊猫无法快速恢复原有数量。

　　There are just 1,600 pandas living in the wild in China, as well as some 300 kept in captivity¹³.

　　目前在中国，野生大熊猫仅有1600只，而圈养大熊猫仅有300多只。

1 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。

2 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》

3 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

4 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

5 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

8 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

11 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

12 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

13 captivity   

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。