VOA慢速英语2017 数以百万的人观看长颈鹿直播

 

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A few days ago, we told you about a young giant panda named Bao Bao.

几天前，我们讲了一则叫做宝宝的年轻大熊猫的故事。

She spent the first three years of her life at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. But this week, she left the United States for her new home in China.

她在华盛顿国家公园渡过了三年时光。但是，本周，她即将离开美国回到中国的新家。

Under an agreement between the two countries, panda cubs¹ must be sent to China before they reach the age of 4.

两国协议中表示，熊猫宝宝在他们四岁之前必须回到中国。

Now, many people are following another animal in New York State.

目前，许多人在纽约城开始追随其他的动物。

A zoo called the Animal Adventure Park has a pregnant² giraffe named April. The zoo is in Harpursville, a small community just north of the state’s border with Pennsylvania.

名为动物冒险的公园拥有一只叫做四月的长颈鹿。该动物园在哈怕斯韦尔，位于该州北部的一个小城市，与宾夕法尼亚临界。

Doctors expect April, the giraffe, to give birth to a calf³ any day now. This will be her fourth calf.

医生希望长颈鹿四月近期生产一只长颈鹿。这将是她的第四个孩子。

Workers have set up a camera, called a “giraffe cam,” to watch April.

工作人员架起了一台摄像机，名为“长颈鹿直播”以便用来观察四月。

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According to the zoo, since the camera has been in place, millions of people have tuned⁴ in to the live video on YouTube.

据动物园报道，自从该摄像机被建立起来。数以百万的人们在YouTube上订阅了该直播。

The Animal Adventure Park shared some interesting facts about giraffes.

动物冒险公园分享了一些有趣的长颈鹿故事。

The average calf is about 2 meters tall at birth, and weighs about 70 kilograms.

刚出身的小长颈鹿平均身高为两米长，70公斤重。

A giraffe’s pregnancy⁵ usually lasts about 15 months.

长颈鹿的孕期通常持续为15个月。

Viewers from around the world are watching the live video feed to see if April had the baby yet.

全世界的观众开始观看直播，想知道四月是否已经诞出宝宝了。

One person wrote on Twitter: “all I want is for this giraffe to give birth already."

其中一人在推特上写道：我所有的希望就是长颈鹿已经生出了宝宝。

Another wrote about waking up early on Thursday to see if she missed the birth or not.

另一个人写道：周四早晨早早起床，很怕错过了长颈鹿宝宝的出生过程。

But some people were worried when they looked at the park’s YouTube channel and saw a message that it had been taken down because of a violation⁶.

但是一些人也担心的写道：当我们在公园的YouTube频道上收看的时候，看见了很多信息都已经删除，因为违规。

Park officials said YouTube was hearing from people who do not like seeing animals in captivity⁷. They said the video showed “nudity or sexual⁸ content.”

公园的领导说：YouTube上，我们也知道了很多人不像看见囚禁的动物。他们表示该视频展示了“裸体和性”

But after a short delay, the live video was operating normally.

但是几天之后，该直播正常开启。

Jordan Patch is the zoo’s owner. He went on Facebook Live to explain what happened.

约旦·帕奇是公园的老板。他在脸书上解释了最近发生了什么?

Patch said the protests “pulled an educational tool away from tens of millions of viewers.” He added that people should work to protect the natural habitat for animals instead of criticizing his zoo for its camera.

帕奇说：抗议者们利用教育的工具将数以万计的观众们脱离出来。他补充道：人们应该致力于保护动物的自然习惯而不是盯着他动物园的摄像机不放。

Words in This Story

tune-in – v. to watch a television show or listen to a radio broadcast

calf – n. the young of some large animals (such as the elephant or whale)

habitat – n. the place or sort of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

nudity – adj. wearing no clothing 

1 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》

2 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

3 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

4 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 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。

8 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。