《中英對照讀新聞》National Zoo staff keeping cautious eye on panda twin cubs in U.S. 國家動物園員工小心照料在美國新生的雙胞胎貓熊

◎李信漢

National Zoo staff are keeping a close eye on giant panda Mei Xiang’s newborn twins, given the cubs’ fragile state just days after their birth, the zoo’s lead veterinarian said on Monday.

國家動物園員工正在小心照顧大貓熊「美香」的新生雙胞胎，因為幼熊出生後幾天狀況脆弱，動物園的首席獸醫週一說。

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"The cubs are doing pretty well. These early days everything’s still touch and go, so we’re watching them closely but we’re very hopeful right now," Dr. Brandie Smith told CNN.

「幼熊表現得相當好。初期這幾天，一切仍充滿變數，所以我們正密切觀察牠們，但我們現在充滿希望，」布蘭迪．史密斯醫生告訴美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）。

Mei Xiang, a star tourist draw, took staff by surprise on Saturday by giving birth to the twins about four-and-a-half hours apart after being artificially inseminated. Giant pandas are among the world’s most endangered species.

美香，是動物園吸引遊客的明星，週六時嚇了動物園員工一跳，因為她生這對雙胞胎幼熊花了大約4個半小時，美香是經由人工受孕。大貓熊是全世界最瀕危物種之一。

Smith said the new cubs are so tiny and fragile that problems could still arise, anything from a congenital defect to difficulties with the mother panda’s ability to care for the two new small babies, each still fur-less and about the size of a stick of butter.

史密斯說，幼熊非常小且脆弱，因此還可能出現許多問題，從先天性缺陷到母貓熊的能力難以照顧兩隻新生小寶寶等，兩隻小貓熊依然毛髮稀疏，而且體積大概只有一塊黃奶油大。

Giant pandas, native to China, have a very low reproductive rate, especially in captivity. There are about 300 giant pandas in captivity and roughly 1,600 in the wild. (Reuters)

大貓熊原產於中國，有著極低的繁殖率，尤其是在人工飼養的情況下。目前約有300隻人工飼養的大貓熊，以及1600隻野生貓熊。（路透）

新聞辭典

touch and go：片語，不確定的情況，且事情有可能變壞。例句：It was touch and go there for a while, but the patient survived.（情況一度不明朗，但病人挺過來了。）

inseminate：動詞，人工受精。例句：She was artificially inseminated in January.（她在1月接受人工受孕。）

congenital：形容詞，天生的，先天的。例如：a congenital defect（先天性缺陷）。