万花筒2008-03-06:小北极熊的银幕处女秀

Crowds flock to see the movie premiere of Germany's favorite polar bear, Knut. CNN's Diana Magnay reports.

"Knut and his friends" tells the tale of Knut’s early days at the Berlin zoo, taking the bottle, those first few shaky bear cub¹ steps, at the same time, tying in documentary footage of Knut’s young peers growing up in the wild. Star of the red carpet was zookeeper Thomas Doerflein who reared Knut by hand after his mother rejected him. ‘Of course, it’s special for me because I’ve raised him.’ He says. ‘But this kind of thing has happened before, so I still don’t understand why there's such a big hype.’  

For the younger cinema-goers, there’s no question what all the hype’s about. ‘He's just so small and so cute.’ says this young girl. ‘And it’s just so cute how Thomas Doerflein cuddled up with him all the time.’ Those cuddling days though are long gone. At 15 months, Knut weights a good 150 kilos and stands two meters at his full height.  

There's also strong competition on the cuteness stakes from two new polar bear cubs² born recently in other German zoos. But director Michael Johnson thinks Knut’s star is not on the wane³. ‘I think everybody’s happy about Knut.’ He says, ‘and now also about the other two small polar bears---Wilbaer and Flocke. For people, it’s simply something positive and one feels thrown back into childhood.’  

The ultimate feel-good movie then and depending on how well it’s received in Germany. The film's makers⁴ are thinking of an international rollout.

 Diana Magnay, CNN, Berlin. 

WORDS IN THE NEWS     

1. shaky : adj

If you describe a situation as shaky, you mean that it is weak or unstable⁵, and seems unlikely to last long or be successful. 

2. cub : n-count 

A cub is a young wild animal such as a lion, wolf, or bear.  

3. hype : n-uncount

Hype is the use of a lot of publicity⁶ and advertising⁷ to make people interested in something such as a product.  

4. -goer : comb in n-count

-goer is added to words such as `theatre', `church', and `film' to form nouns which describe people who regularly go to that type of place or event.

eg: They are regular church-goers. 

5. cuddle : verb

If you cuddle someone, you put your arms round them and hold them close as a way of showing your affection. 

6. on the wane : phrase

If something is on the wane, it is becoming weaker or less. 

7. feel-good : adj

A feel-good film is a film which presents people and life in a way which makes the people who watch it feel happy and optimistic.

8. rollout : noun

the inauguration⁸ or initial public exhibition of a new product, service, or policy.

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 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》

3 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。