HGiant Panda Cub Born at U.S. National Zoo

　　A giant panda at a US zoo has given birth to her third cub¹.

 

　　15-year-old Mei Xiang is based at Washington's Smithsonian's National Zoo.

 

　　Dr. Suzan Murray is the chief veterinarian in the zoo.

 

　　"Mei Xiang seems to be doing very well as does her cub. The cub is making a lot of noises, squealing² a lot. And again Mei Xiang is being a poster child for a great panda mom. She is holding the cub and cradling it and so at this point everything looks great and we're very pleased."

 

　　Zoo keepers and veterinarians will examine the cub within the next 48 hours.

 

　　A Chinese panda expert performed artificial inseminations on Mei Xiang in March after she failed to breed naturally with male panda Tian Tian.

 

　　Mei Xiang had previously³ given birth to two cubs⁴, one in 2005 and a cub which died while a week old last September.

 

　　Giant pandas are one of the world's most endangered species.

 

　　There are about 1,600 known to be living in the wild and some 300 in captivity⁵, mostly in China.

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 squealing   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
• The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 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》

5 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。