VOA慢速英语--河马菲奥娜3个月大了

 

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It has been a much happier spring season at Ohio’s Cincinnati Zoo than last spring.

Last May, zoo officials there shot and killed one of their gorillas², after a young child fell into its cage. Officials feared the animal would hurt the child.

The killing³ of the gorilla¹, named Harambe, led to public outrage⁴. People across the United States -- and world -- still remember Harambe’s story.

This spring, however, zoo officials have been celebrating the birth and survival⁵ of a baby Nile hippopotamus⁶. Her name is Fiona. She was born on January 24 – six weeks early. Her premature⁷ birth meant she had many health problems. At birth, she weighed just 13 kilograms. That is more than 10 kilograms smaller than the lowest-known birth weight for Nile hippos.

Animal experts feared Fiona would not survive.

But she did. And zoo officials have been sharing happy updates on Fiona with the public.

“She has brought everyone together,” said Jenna Wingate who takes care of African animals at the zoo. “It brings us to tears sometimes.”

Fiona turned three months old on April 24. She now weighs about 78 kilograms.

Zoo visitors will not be able to see Fiona until at least June. But many have already gotten to know her through the zoo’s blog and video updates. The videos have shown Fiona playing in a pool, learning⁸ to run, and taking a baby bottle.

Tens of millions of people have watched Fiona’s videos. Thousands have bought shirts with a picture of Fiona on them. A bakery in Cincinnati even sells special Fiona treats.

Fiona gets so many cards in the mail each day that the zoo made a special box for her letters.

To celebrate her three-month birthday on Monday, zookeepers posted updates on Fiona all day through Instagram and Snapchat stories. The “day in the life” updates have included video of Fiona taking a shower, eating several breakfasts, and playing with a bucket of ice.

Wingate, who helps take care of Fiona, thinks so many people like the young hippo because of her “underdog” story.

“It makes us really happy to know that one animal can make so many people happy and so excited and interested,” Wingate told Cincinnati’s WCPO television station.

After the death of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo shut down its Twitter account for two months. Angry and negative comments affected⁹ zoo workers.

The strong positive response to Fiona has helped what zoo officials have called a “healing process” after Harambe.

“It’s been a very welcome thing,” Wingate said.

Words in This Story

hippopotamus –n. a very large African animal with a large head and short legs that spends most of its time in the water

premature –adj. taking place before it is supposed to

underdog –n. a person or team that is not expected to win or do well

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

6 hippopotamus   

n.河马

参考例句：

• The children enjoyed watching the hippopotamus wallowing in the mud.孩子们真喜观看河马在泥中打滚。
• A hippopotamus surfs the waves off the coast of Gabon.一头河马在加蓬的海岸附近冲浪。

7 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

8 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。