国家地理-2008-06-28 China Pandas' Bamboo Dwindling 地震造成熊猫口粮短缺

Bamboo, the staple¹ diet of pandas, is reportedly in high demand following last month’s powerful earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province. Officials say there is only three to five months' supply of bamboo for the pandas to eat.

 "There are many landslides² which are covering the bamboo area, so basically there’s no bamboo there. The amount of bamboo which can be purchased or cut has decreased sharply."

 Chinese television reported on Saturday that staff at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center were trying to find fresh supplies of bamboo. Despite the food crisis, visitor numbers to the center have returned to pre-earthquake figures. Chinese news media is also reporting that in Shifang  [1], soldiers rescued a lion and two tigers abandoned after the quake. According to reports, the road to Happy Valley Zoo in Shenfang was blocked by rubble³ and subsequent landslides, but the military managed to reach the zoo and rescued the three big cats which were all reportedly suffering from malnutrition⁴. The lion and two tigers were more than 65 pounds underweight. Chinese television reported an endangered northeast tiger, found only in the northeastern part of China, needed urgent attention. Over 30 soldiers helped (to) [2]carry the animals in crates⁵ for one mile from the zoo for a temporary landing spot for evacuation. Local transport then took them to another zoo for treatment.

 

1 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

2 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

5 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。